This is not the first time I’ve posted a picture of an Invacar on the blog – you can see an earlier post about them here which covers them in a little more detail.
That post had black and white photos though, which were of a slightly worse for wear model of the vehicle. This time you can see the classic “ice blue” colour scheme that made them so familiar back when I was young.
Fujica GW690 & Lomography Color Negative 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
I don’t often make portraits, I’m much too shy to ask people if they’ll allow me to, and it takes a real effort to overcome this and ask if I can. Even then, I often rush in my nervousness and end up with a sub-par result (either missing focus, or not watching the edges for distractions usually), so I’m quite pleased how this one turned out. I spent a while talking to the man (whose name I didn’t ask because of my socially inept brain!) before I took the shot.
Galadriel, who stands proudly conducting the music, was missing her baton on this occasion. Perhaps one of those monkeys stole it? 🙂
A few more shots from the steam rally – this time in vivid colour – including some commercial vehicles (a Leyland Comet lorry and a Scammel Showman’s Truck) and a William Foster & Co traction engine.
Fujica GW690 & Lomography Color Negative 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
It’s that time of year when I flood the blog with lots of pictures of traction engines and other vintage vehicles. This year I visited the Sheffield Steam Rally, as usual, but also visited the Haxey Feast, which is a new (and at present, smaller event, so I have quite a few pictures to share.
I might drop them in batches, like this roll of Tri-X, or maybe some as individual frames. We’ll see how it goes.
A few weeks back I decided to go for a walk on the Trans Pennine Trail. I’ve walked the stretch close to where I live before, reaching as far as Renishaw a few miles to the south, but I’ve never followed it any further than that.
So, on the day in question, I decided that I would see what was down there, walking the stretch between Renishaw and Staveley and then following the Cuckoo Way on the return journey.
Looking east from the Trans-Pennine Trail towards the village of Mastin Moor. The Cuckoo Way meanders its way north over near where those pylons stand.
The Trans-Pennine Trail follows the path of an old railway along this stretch of it’s route and is relatively straight as a result. It’s also flat and doesn’t tend to get muddy at all. The Cuckoo Way, on the other hand, follows the route of the Chesterfield Canal and can be hiked all the way from Chesterfield to the River Trent – about forty five miles away as the route takes you.
Looking west from the Cuckoo Way. The Trans Pennine Way is where the row of trees is on the horizon. The houses are on the outskirts of Staveley.
The Cuckoo Way is easy to walk in many places, particularly sections where the canal still exists, but this stretch just winds through fields, sometimes with little sign of where the waterway once flowed. This particular stretch was quite muddy. Not wet sloppy mud, but the thick stuff like you find on a playing field after a game of football has been played when the ground isn’t dry. It quickly clogged up the soles of my hiking boots with it’s thick clay-like weight and took quite some time to wash off when I got back home.
Heading back north and following the former route of the canal. Teh Cuckoo Way is just off-camera to the right.
The weather in the UK is, being generous, changeable. A day at the seaside, no matter what the forecast might promise, always bears a risk of it raining for the full duration of your visit. So what are you meant to do in these situations? Get wet?
Well we inventive Brits have a solution to everything, and so many seaside resorts around the country have you covered with a selection of shelters in which you can attempt to avoid the elements. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, from simple bus-shelter-style to grandiose Victorian architectural gems. And if the weather is nice, maybe you can just take the weight of your feet and enjoy your fish and chips or an ice cream or something.
I really like this couple of photos. I don’t think there are any other shelters like this in Cleethorpes, but I know there are many dotted around the country’s resorts. maybe a long-term project is a possibility?
I take a lot of pictures of buildings of all shapes and sizes, but sometimes I find one that grabs my attention because it has a particularly interesting design.
The photo in today’s post illustrates this quite nicely. I have no idea of the history of this structure, but it’s an unusual shape to be sure. The wedge-shaped roof of the far section, to the oddly narrow middle section, then dropping down to a single storey section that has, what looks like, a more recent extension. It looks like an interesting place to live (I’m not sure, but it might be made up of apartments) and, as I walked past it in late December, I could see the Christmas decorations still present within, giving it a very homely feel.
Steel City Snapper photography 