The dog in the photo was Chloe, a wire-haired fox terrier. Although it’s a fine day, the waves look fairly energetic suggesting strong winds across the Irish Sea.
What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every few days.
Click to enlarge
This is a photo of my younger sister, Ruth. Bear in mind that I’ll be 77 this summer, and you can deduce right away that the photo is quite old! I took it on a beach in mid-Wales, I believe in 1963 so it’s worn well. Ruth was building a lovely sand castle; Mum and Dad were on the beach nearby, as were my other two sisters, the weather was sunny and warm, and all was well with the world. It usually is when you’re on holiday!
But what else can we learn from this image?
Well, you might notice it’s a bit blurry, that’s because it was taken with a cheap Kodak Starmite camera with no focus control and a cheap lens. But what you can’t see is that the original was poorly framed and had a sloping horizon so I had to crop it for a better composition. The original is a Kodachrome transparency on 127 roll film. It’s dusty and I had use GIMP to clean it up.
But there are other things we can see. The bucket is red plastic, but the spade has a wooden handle and a painted steel blade. That alone would give an approximate date, given that plastic buckets were a recent innovation while wood and steel spades would have been similarly replaced with plastic only a little later. The flags were paper with wooden sticks.
Just think of this from a waste point of view. Only the bucket in this image would have produced waste that could not recycle itself. The spade, the flags, the clothes Ruth is wearing, even her footwear, when discarded would gradually rust or be digested by soil bacteria. Most of it would be gone within a few decades, though the rubber soles might take a tad longer. But the plastic bucket will still exist in some form unless it was incinerated. Most likely it’s still in landfill somewhere near Cirencester as that’s where we lived at the time.
The dog in the photo was Chloe, a wire-haired fox terrier. Although it’s a fine day, the waves look fairly energetic suggesting strong winds across the Irish Sea.
I have other early photos, mostly on black and white emulsions of the Ilford FP series, but a few others in colour.
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It was good to have a whole week ahead of us. There would be places to see, plenty to do, great conversations, good food, and – as always on our family holidays – marvellous company!
What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.
I’m posting an image every two days (or as often as I can). A photo, an image from the internet, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy.
Click to enlarge
After exploring Springhill, we drove to Portrush on the north coast where we’d booked a large holiday house for a week. We were the last to arrive, and after the usual hellos and hugs we fell into chatting and laughing and organising our first meal together. It was great to gather round the table together, three generations of smiles and looking forward to our week relaxing together.
The photo shows all but two of us about to tuck into dinner, I’m behind the camera of course, and son-in-law Paz was behind me in the kitchen area, so you see a wife, two daughters, a son-in-law, and four grandchildren. The house was large enough for all of us, we need around six or seven bedrooms, a large dining table, plenty of cutlery, plates and mugs, and room for ten people to spread out. And we had that in spades!
Our first impression of Portrush was good, last time I was here was in the 1960s – almost a lifetime ago! It has changed a good deal, of course, and it’s grown much larger, but the harbour seems its old self, and the lovely sandy beach is just as I remember.
It was good to have a whole week ahead of us. There would be places to see, plenty to do, great conversations, good food, and – as always on our family holidays – marvellous company!
If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome!
What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.
I’m posting an image every day (or as often as I can). A photo, an image from the internet, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy.
The beach at Greystones
Greystones is a delightful little town on the Irish coast south of Bray and Dublin. We visited it for a stroll along the seafront, discovering several small beaches as well as two longer ones north and south of the town. There’s a harbour/marina and interesting rock pools to see as well. With a good rail link from Dublin, this must be a busy place on warm, sunny days in the summertime.
In the photo, the headland with fields and trees beyond the rocks is just south of Bray, and the more distant headland is near Dun Laoghaire, with the furthest visible land at Howth jutting out from Dublin.
Everyone enjoys a visit to the seaside, though perhaps the people living nearby prefer it when it’s a bit quieter – though visitors bring trade to the local businesses and holiday homes, of course. I think Greystones would be a good choice for a winter break too, travel to Dublin is easy on the train, so days in the city and evenings on the coast might be a very fine combination.
Images from our Irish holiday 2024
For convenience, here’s a list of all the Irish holiday images:
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Notes from bygone years – October..ctober..tober..ober… Hint: Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
October 2022 (1 year before publishing this article)
The Corinium Amphitheatre
In October 2022, I visited Cirencester’s Roman amphitheatre to see a display by the Ermine Street Guard, a reenactment and experimental archaeology group that builds and tests Roman Army equipment. They’re often in demand for events all over the UK. There was quite a crowd on this day, most of them sitting on the arena slopes and giving a good idea of the amphitheatre’s size in a way that’s not so clear when it’s empty. The military display was excellent too and the weather was kind.
In October 2021 my Mammillaria cactus was in full flower. I bought it in the 1960s as a gift for my girlfriend, Judy, when we were both still at school. It lived on her bedroom windowsill until she went to university in 1967; and when we were married in 1970 it moved with us into our bedsit in Bristol. It’s still going strong after all those years and is now getting almost too large to manage with seven flowering arms.
In October 2018 Donna and I spent some time at Westonbirt Arboretum, strolling amongst the autumn colours and taking photos of some of the best views. We love this place; I’ve known it since childhood and it never disappoints – at any season.
In October 2013 we were in Edinburgh. Some friends were getting married there and we’d been asked to help. It’s one of our favourite UK cities so we spent a few days there after the wedding before returning home to St Neots. One of the places we visited was HMY Britannia, now permanently moored and open to the public. The photo shows the state dining room.
In October 2008 I was working for Unilever at their Colworth research lab north of Bedford. I worked four days a week at this time, and one of those was from home. You can see my work laptop at the left of this photo, in a quiet corner of our conservatory.
In October 1998 Donna and I had a week’s holiday on the south coast of Turkey, at Fethiye. We had a good break (apart from 24 hours with bad tummies) and we mixed days by the beach with visits to interesting places. One of these was the ruined Greek town of Kayaköy.
In October 1988 I’d just redecorated Beth’s bedroom and she had organised the furniture and put her belongings back. She did a brilliant job, still at Yatton Junior School at the time. The photo shows the result in part.
In October 1983 I was researching fruit pollination at Long Ashton Research Station, mostly on plums and apples. Debbie was eight and was at junior school, Beth was five and had started school too. Judy was probably teaching by this time.
In October 1978 Debbie was three and the new baby (Beth) was only 5 months old. We were living in Yatton, near Bristol; at the time both were within the county of Avon.
In October 1968 I was in my third year at the University of Bath, studying for a BSc in Horticulture. I sent a tape letter to my girlfriend Judy, at university in Aberystwyth. (Tape letters were a thing in those days, you recorded a message on a small reel-to-reel tape and posted it in a cardboard case.)
In October 1958, my sister Cindy turned seven; NASA launched Pioneer 1 into space; and BOAC flew the first transatlantic jet service, beating PanAm by three weeks. I was in my sixth and final year at junior school (Miss Taylor’s class).
In October 1953 I had settled in to my first term at junior school. I think I was quite happy by this time, enjoying learning to form letters and doing simple arithmetic, making some new friends, and playing in the playground.
In October 1948 I was two to three months old; although I don’t remember anything, of course, I’m told my grandfather took a bit of a shine to me. We were living at my grandparents home in Cirencester while Mum and Dad saved up a little money and put their names down for a council house on the Beeches Estate. Mum’s parents lived in Northern Ireland.
In October 1943, Dad joined Cirencester’s Air Training Corps (ATC), he’d long been interested in aircraft and was a keen model builder and flier as well as joining the ATC at school. I think that he was already intending to join the RAF as soon as he was old enough.
Notes from bygone years – Lots of past Septembers Hint: Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
A year ago
I didn’t post to my blog in September 2022, so here’s an extract from my journal for 8th instead. We were on holiday in Wales along with Donna’s Mum, brother Paul and his wife Vanessa. It was an eventful day.
We drove into Tenby and unexpectedly bumped into our friends Simon and Carol! None of us had any idea we would be in Tenby that day, our friends live in Yorkshire!
At lunchtime I saw reports on my phone mentioning that the Queen’s doctors were concerned about her health. Later in the day her death was announced and it seemed very strange that Prince Charles was now King Charles III. I wrote in my journal:
[Elizabeth II] had such a long reign (the longest of any British Monarch) and she leaves King Charles III as the most aged new Monarch ever. She did her job extraordinarily well. It comes as something of a shock to be writing these words on this day in my journal. It’s a day that seemed always to be delayed and would never actually arrive – yet here it is.
Back in our holiday home in Llantissilio, we watched the news and caught up with some of the details of the day. There was also startling news from Ukraine with Russian forces abandoning a large region in Kherson and retreating in disorder in an even larger region near Kharkiv.
In September 2021 I wrote about a new song from a musician I know, Sarah Reynolds. The theme of the song is that when we seem to be facing defeat and are struggling just to hang on, hope may not be as far off as we imagine.
Take a look at the original post and listen to the song, ‘Wilderness’.
In September 2018 we were on holiday with the family in Switzerland. I wrote a blog post about walking the bisses (irrigation streams). It was a fascinating day. Here’s a link to my post.
In September 2013 I wrote about my project ‘Cruising the Gospel’.
The idea was to help and encourage people to read through the biblical books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, considering what we can learn about Jesus and about ourselves as we read. Anyone can follow along, reading and pondering small, manageable chunks along the way. (Read the original article)
On 29th September 2008 I wrote to Elon Musk and SpaceX to congratulate them. Why? Because the previous day had seen them launch their Falcon I rocket successfully – after three consecutive failures! Read my blog post and message.
In September 2003 we visited my parents in Cirencester. Dad had just bought Mum a battery-powered cat that ‘purred’ when you stroked it. Mum loved having a cat, but Dad felt that at their age they shouldn’t have another one after the previous cat died. The pretend ‘cat’ was an amusing compensation, but I don’t think Mum was very convinced!
In September 1998 we were looking forward a few weeks to a relaxing holiday in Fetiye, Turkey. I’d been to Istanbul briefly on a school trip in December 1964, but I had never been to any other part of the country. A week on the Mediterranean coast sounded great and we hoped the weather would be kind.
In September 1993 I was working as the Microcomputing Manager at Long Ashton Research Station near Bristol. Part of my job involved networking PCs, here’s a message I sent asking for help. Click the image for a larger view.
Notice the ASCII art (text characters used to make larger ‘text’ or images, and the way a reply uses > characters to mark quoted text. All very primitive, all time consuming, and none of it necessary any more.
The 10th September was Judy’s birthday, and in 1988 Debbie and Beth made her a birthday meal in the evening. It was quite a spread as you can see if you click on the thumbnail.
The family records are blank in September 1978, the month that Debbie turned 3½. But on the world scene there were some significant events. Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat discussed peace and signed the Camp David Accords, and 122 rioters died in Tehran when the Shah’s troops opened fire.
In late 1973 John Jefferies & Son in Cirencester were preparing their Christmas hyacinth brochure, perhaps in September.
This would be issued later, mailed out to regular customers and available in their shop (now Vodafone) in the Market Place. The bulbs were grown in the dark in the basement of the Tower Street warehouse; the building still exists, converted into flats next to Minerva Court.
In September 1968 I was about to begin my third year as a student at the University of Bath. It was a sandwich course so required four years to allow for industrial placements.
In September 1963 I began my 5th year at Cirencester Grammar School. This was an important year for me and my school friends, with O level mock exams after Christmas and the real O levels to face in June.
In September 1958 I began my final year at Junior School. This would be the year of the important 11-plus exams that would decide whether we would go to the Grammar School in Victoria Road or to the Secondary Modern at Deerpark.
In September 1953 I’d been five for a month or so and I it was time to began my first ever school term. I went to Querns School, and was unhappy when my Mum left me on the first day. I cried later when the teacher told us that we would stop to eat elevenses. This was not a word I knew, and I heard it as ‘lemonses’. What I did know was that lemons are very sharp and I did not want to eat one!
The pupil’s entrance was along the little lane at the side of the school, shown in the photo. I remember walking up and down that lane very clearly indeed.
In September 1948 I was in my second month of life, and Mum and Dad celebrated their first wedding anniversary. It seems they didn’t waste a whole lot of time! I would have been getting my arms and eyes under better control by this time. Dad was busy with C&DMAC (a model aircraft club). His maternal grandmother’s second husband died on 19th, Dad always knew him as ‘Gramp’.
In September 1943 Dad shot a lot of starlings, apparently. He heard that he’d passed his School Certificate successfully, was active in the ATC, and had a busy social life.
We were constantly surprised by the next unexpected vista
Every summer we go away somewhere different for a week – Donna and me along with two daughters, their husbands, and our four grandchildren. This year we stayed in a ski chalet in Haute-Nendaz in western Switzerland, just over the border from France.
Although prices are high in Switzerland, there are many wonderful compensations in terms of mountain scenery, clean streets and clean air, friendly people, and the walks. I had expected walks with big and tiring changes in elevation – and we certainly did our share of walks of that sort. But the bisses: what a wonderful experience!
Looking at a bisse
I must admit, I had no idea what a bisse was when we drove from Geneva Airport, around Lake Geneva, and then south-west to Nendaz. I hadn’t even come across the word ‘bisse’. But we soon found a leaflet of local walks and discovered that several of them followed the local bisses. A bisse is an irrigation stream running gently downhill, almost following the contours of the mountains and hills. As a result the bisse paths are gentle and easy walking for the most part, and they wind around the slopes through woodland and meadow. The views of the mountains and valleys are spectacular; following the path through woodland and then coming out into the open again we were constantly surprised by the next unexpected vista.
The view from a bisse
All the way, the path is accompanied by the sparkling water hurrying down its channel, sometimes shallow, sometimes deep, and sometimes disappearing into a large pipe and reappearing beside the path again a little further on. Some of these paths follow one bisse gently uphill and then pick up a different one for the return, making a lovely, circular tour through the countryside.
Breakfast is served a couple of steps away across a stone-paved courtyard.
Lechlade is a delightful Cotswold town on the River Thames; in fact, it sits close to the highest navigable point and the Thames and Severn Canal joins the Thames at Inglesham Lock, just slightly further upstream.
We stayed in a tiny apartment called ‘The Hayloft‘. Downstairs contains a double bed and an easy chair, upstairs has a loo, hand basin and a shower. Simple and very, very tiny, but really all you need if you’re planning to be out all day as we were. Breakfast is included in the price (we had two nights) and is served in ‘Vera’s Kitchen‘ a couple of steps away across a stone-paved courtyard. The food was lovely; I chose their ‘Cotswold Full English’ which was delicious and kept me going all day. They offer plenty of lighter alternatives.
The photo above is a typical scene, the living green of trees and gardens contrasting with the honey and brick of the buildings and also with the modern traffic in the old streets. We enjoyed our stay in this hospitable little corner of the Cotswolds. There are pleasant walks, pub lawns running down to the river, and some nice places to eat.
Journeys of Heart and Mind 
