I've also been trying to complete my bullet point history of St Oswalds for the committee to use when developing themes for the 750th anniversary flower show this summer. It is also pub night, so off to The Crown after the soaps. I'm trying to get another batch of clips from our recent outings plus archives on the youtube channel. I did manage to source two similar video cameras together on EBay which should sort me out for a while, just over £200 each which wasn't a bad proice, I could get new ones but they have too many stupid 'features' which I'll never use to the detriment of relative simplicity but no better picture quality.Here is the slide show from Llandudno.
We seemed to have gone into a higher gear, I know I'm sleeping well but wish that was the same for Mandy who gets a cumulative tiredness. I suppose we keep taking on more than we can sustain. It was the day for the Polio Fellowship meeting at Ellesmere Port but I'd double booked almost as I'd said the tax lady could come round this morning to try and sort out our problem putting in a return for Mandy's Irish house rental which is now required for all overseas property owned by Brits. The daft thing is we pay tax on it in Ireland and reciprocity agreements means that you don't pay twice and as the tax charged is identical you owe the UK revenue nothing, the catch comes in trying to use their system from a village without mobile phone coverage. She tried and tried and like us gave up and quickly filled in a paper form and after she had gone dashed off down the motorway to Ellesmere Port for the meeting. I've also been trying to complete my bullet point history of St Oswalds for the committee to use when developing themes for the 750th anniversary flower show this summer. It is also pub night, so off to The Crown after the soaps. I'm trying to get another batch of clips from our recent outings plus archives on the youtube channel. I did manage to source two similar video cameras together on EBay which should sort me out for a while, just over £200 each which wasn't a bad proice, I could get new ones but they have too many stupid 'features' which I'll never use to the detriment of relative simplicity but no better picture quality.Here is the slide show from Llandudno. Another year has passed and there has been little change in the degeneration of Hull, it was a speculative visit albeit I set off or at least got up that is at 5.30am to get through the Bradford,Leeds bottle neck. The traffic heading back towards Manchester is a solid queue from 6am so even worse than heading east. Once past Leeds it grinds on through the inevitable road works before finally clearing past the M1 turn and then you can sail on over the remainder of the motorwar and glide past the Humber bridge in time to meet the commuter traffic heading into Hull, yes that' two cars, the rest are just trying to get out. I would say there are lots of very friendly bus drivers there, often the case I think it is solidarity, like the police waving as they pass, a fellow traveler who is only trying to do a job and not hurt anyone. I managed to get a reasonable deal on the parking, they should actually pay people to visit not chargh3e them but I had breakfast at Neros opposite the station, avoiding Costa like the plaque should be zero rated. Actually the cafe we were going to use at Llandudno was closed and rated one star, you get that for putting your name on the form, last saw something like that in Whitstable in Kent. The promised cloud all day never happened, I went through sleet on the M62 then the sky cleared, I made the best of periods of cloud, mainly shower bearing but with that and some over by the BBC and garden I got my quota of film. Had a nice chat with an amateur photographer, he agreed getting stuff done early in Hull avoids some of the worst elements although I found walking across the empty wilderness which passes for a centre that the yobs were going at it hell for leather mid morning. Next was back to the car and move up over the bridge to the roundabout which is so good for filming the trucks, oh no they are converting it to have two lames for dock traffic avoiding going round the roundabout itself, another good spot ruined. The light had really gone over to sunshine but I stuck with it and there was plenty of interesting lorry traffic although it did quieten down a lot after lunch. I'm sure that I can use many of the other possible locations especially the outbound side of the bridge so will return in the summer to see what I can make of it. Yesterday we saw our first primroses of spring and the first daffodil, how appropriate being in Wales was that, I was also spotted by Mandy's cousin Dudley and Ann who had noticed me filming from Debenhams. I think I'd moved back to Mandy at the car park and we missed one another. I did forget to take my still camera, so much going on, anyway I took some still one the video camera, which by the way is playing up, another job I must get a replacement, perhaps I'll check Ebay in the morning, like the model I have, will try for a good condition used one, few people hammer them like me! I'm still working on the St Oswald flower show, church 750th anniversary 'history', trying to find suitable stimulating bullet points in its long history. Had a chat with John Bishop, brought him up to speed on the situation re deposit of cine films in the Online archive and later Martin Rickitt rang re the Asia trip which he is up for so will start booking when he gets back from a wildlife trip to the Carribean. Photos tonight from Bangor yesterday. Working on the DVD masters from Hull and have several to load as digital download options and need to update Amazon and Ebay shops, it never ends does it. Once more ignoring the BBC weather forecast we set off for North Wales with mixed expectations as it was quite a clear sky at home. The first and only problem of the day was a double trouble on the A55 dual carriageway where we first got stuck in the tail back of a car crash and when the fire engines carried on past it and smoke was rising ahead we squeezed past the first accident then go held up at the burnt out van incident, I think for the highways agency staff and emergency services it was like a rolling road show. We eventually arrived in Caernarfon and yet again the bus scene has changed, it is almost an annual shake up. The rump of services left are now operated by Anglesey based buses together with Arriva who I suppose gave up many of these routes years ago. The lighting was perfect for a winters day, another world from the horrific scene in Manchester yesterday. Then it was onwards to Bangor where once more the light was spot on, no wind and not too cold. The buses seem to come round in batches and it was never 'dead' although some very lingering shots are required these days, seldom does the 'action' outrun the photographers ability to keep up with the vehicles. It was brightening up a bit by the time we got to Llandudno but fine still for film work, at last deckers and nearly all Arriva buses. Nothing new in the day but i guess a few vehicle shuttles around and the independents must have taken in stock to cope with the new routes for them, Gwynfor certainly has quite a network, let us hope that they don't fall from grace too soon as have most Caernarfon independents. Shots then tonight from Caernarfon to start. Tomorow looks a bit too sunny but a possibility is Hull with a back up of truck coverage if unsuitable for buses. I think I could almost blame Mandy for encouraging me to go to Manchester, there was nothing more technical to it than looking out of the bedroom window and it certainly looked as if the thick cloud was passing and it was looking better in Manchester direction. Our only appointment today was the doctors at 4pm so not too far was one consideration. When I got there I struggled to find somewhere to park, the ring road was gridlocked so I came off and had to try and fit in to one of the maze of car parks near Piccadilly, I think the one I ended up in was directly beneath the station, us golden oldies had the pleasure of paying extra as I couldn't do it online with a computerised telephone gadget. It had already thrown it down once while I was parking although I did have a good spell and had half my footage complete but then the heavens opened and it got worse. I tried the few spots I know where you can shoot from under cover but there aren't many, not too bad near the north Manchester bus station but it only picks up a few of the routes. I was running out of dry tissue and desperate to keep still and video cameras dry. With the large batches of bus deliveries now in the past there isn't that much different to see so it was really like getting a ducking with no real objective. I struggled on and it was getting darker but I had enough and a bit to spare so I could eliminate any shots too rain spotted. Mandy was already ringing me as I returned , I left my coat in the boot to dry a bit. I've just set up the home blood pressure monitoring spreadsheets that Clair Taylor our doc wants us to do, I'd like to come off the blood pressure tablets.She has prescribed some sprays for me to try and get shot of the constant catarrh I get plus blocked nose and sniffles. We asked her about the CT scan on Mandy's lung, it seems everything is unchanged but they want to monitor not just the calcified growth but other small growths which are probably all normal but just in case. Mandy also doubled her dose of Amitrypteline to help her sleep better, it has been good over the past couple of years since she started them to stop the constant cramping but the effect seems to be wearing off. I got all the spring events at the RNCM booked, it took agaes on the phone with Mandy's chair and discounts and disabled parking. I couldnt get through to Clonter opera so will try them again tomorrow also need to book Brodskys restaurant at the college , nobody picking up the phone today. I'm just burning the DVD master for Manchester buses, I've a few to put on the PMP shop as digital downloads. I've put lots of clips on Youtube from the old cine film I'm entering on the database. Almost up to date with the work in hand but oceans to wade through and probably not enough years to complete it. Meantime some shots from Manchester today. Same old, same ol.., yes sometimes it seems to be a treadmill as there is so much out these for me to get my head around. The Youtube advertising takes a dive at the beginning of a New Year and that has certainly happened with bells on this time as an almost collapse. I guess that advertisers see little hope in a world full of uncertainty, in Britain and to an extent in the USA the stock markets have not just held up but soared until recently but perhaps a reality check has arrived. I cannot see things changing until certainty is imposed on the financial markets, who wants to waste money if there is none to be spent and thus people like ourselves who rely on the advertising revenue are hung out to dry and you can add to this the fickle Google/Youtube reality which is as perverse as you could expect from a country with trump at its helm. The shoulder coninues to give aggravation but I just carry on the same and today have added a few mnidv tapes with cine film on them to the database which I have to an extent reactivated and have ordered 20 more tapes so I can carry on with copying the cine collection before the potential lodgement within a larger archive albeit I've been unable to make contact with the person concerned. Really we haven't made much contact with anyone save the friends at St Oswalds this morning. You can be assured that I shall continue to load up the archives, even when idiots write stupid comments, there are options like banning comment on clip as, do you know they seldom have any information on what passes as their profile, when there is it is even worse as it is usually some sort of extreme prejudice. Thank goodness for a nice glass of real ale and the prospect of a Rioja over dinner which Mandy is conjuring up as I type while listening to some sounds which recall the happy era of love and peace and perhaps naivety but we thought may reshape the world.Few capture that age as well as Peter Sarstedt and his brother singing as Crispen St John, 'Don't go to India' is so exquisitely set in those times as you float away from your aches and pains of ageing. I'm not sure what we shall manage tomorrow, if the wind isn't too bad perhaps Manchester buses if not then Leeds and Wakefield on Tuesday. The truck fans are not forgotten but I have work to do now. A table full of DVD orders marks the New Year revival in sales. Tonights slide show , well lets go to something hot and exotic my first trip to Sri Lanka in 1980 We got quite a lot of things done or worked out although last night was awful, with my shoulder I didn't get to sleep until about 3.30am. We went to Northwich to have a loo at the sheds and talk through the plan for our long thin housing for the models. It was very busy, one chap there and he was inundated with people. While we were looking we had the idea that it may be better to convert the garage for the models and have a new but ordinary shed. I got a quick quote on something more standard and when we got home we measured it up and it looks as if we have a plan to block off the garage and have a door and window, get it insulated walls, floor and ceiling then have the long walls covered with shelving which would be within one foot of the 30 ft shed, it would also have the possibility of an island stand in the middle with more shelves plus there would be room for a work station for my editing suite and thus free up the small bedroom for guests. A quick visit to Northwich glass on the way home gave us an idea on prices and I've emailed the builder who did the toilet extension a few years back for a quote. We also went to the Anderton boat left near Northwich to investigate the possible visit in the summer with the polio fellowship. We already have a meeting next week, almost double booked though with the people from the tax coming to sort out the silly form required to prove we don't need to pay tax on the Irish house as we already pay it in Ireland, jobs for the boys it sounds like to me. We also called at b&Q hardware shop and got the spray for the lilly beetles which emerge in spring so I am ready for them, some path clear/ weed killer to put on our paths and around next doors drive neighbouring us now the tenants have left. The weeds almost overgrow us, the owner was there earlier but never spoke, it really needs a dose of rebuilding, someone would knock it down and rebuild if it wasn't a semi detached place. Tonights photos from Chester. The only film days possible next week are Tuesday and Wednesday as we also have doctors appointment, the polio meeting and picking up paintings in Liverpool. I've uploaded recent DVD releases to the shop page and will put digital downloads on asap. I've also put on tonight the covers for recent DVDs. A third day in a row that the BBC weather was 100% wrong and a third dy it has been to our advantage with dry, still weather and light cloud at least up until the afternoon. I last visited Liverpool in February 2018 after I had returned from my Asia trip so I'm a month ahead of myself but nothing wrong with that. I've already got advance orders for many of our probable 2019 destinations but I would prefer it is folk waited until I had got them done before sending money in advance as it is just extra pressure I could do without. Goodness knows what next week will bring but we have a couple of appointments already lined up with the doctors on Monday, tax people helping us with the returns for our Irish proerty on Thursday and Friday we are picking up paintings from Mandy's relative Jenny in Liverpool. So that if you can follow my drift leave me with Tuesday and Wednesday and if possible I'd like to cover Leeds and Manchester or Birmingham although the list is very long. So without further ado as they say plus the fact that my shoulder is giving me grief, just had a high dose Ibuprofen rub and taken a tramadol to ease it. A nice lay in tomorrow seems a good idea. Hopefully next week our doc can suggest something t get rid of the hacking cough and catarrh that I've had forever it seems. Photos from Liverpool clips on Youtube this evening. I ignored the weather forecast and just looked out the window and made a judgement that like yesterday there would be a cover of light cloud replacing early sunshine and I was right and the BBC were wrong, thank goodness. I headed straight for Chester and got my usual spot near the fire station and was soon set up filming at the new bus station which isn't that new now. The lighting made it simple, just point the camera anywhere and it would be ok. Nothing really new to get excited about perhaps that will be the story through 2019. I mused that with both Arriva and First up for grabs if Stagecoach bought them both out what would the government do, ban it and have no buses services. Then they could have national coverage, in fact they could call it the National Bus Company and have a livery with little arrows and paint them just either red or green, oh happy day all history eventually repeats itself. The drivers were very friendly, lots of returned waves and thumbs up etc. I had one chap who must have had mental health issues and was quite bizarre who was very upset that he couldn't find on whose authority I was filming and wanted to see my warrant card, must watch too much telly perhaps. Anyway that was the only minus and almost amusing, he'll probably come through a a voice 'off' on the DVD. Next I was on the relatively short hop to Wrexham, the weather stayed just as it was, not a breathe of wind and although only just above freezing it wasn't that bad as long as you were wrapped up well. Again there was an absence of new buses, really other than the quick passing of easy jet last summer life potters on with mostly Arriva once more and just a handful, barely that of 'other' operators but what a great time I had, lots of people had a pleasant chat as they paused to inquire what I was doing or to cross the road, all most pleasant well didn't Wrexham do well and the bus drivers, well they were that nice they could have all easily been lorry drivers. Lots of nice photos from which I give you a small sample this evening. I must get some DVD covers done, not sure what if anything I'll get filmed tomorrow but fingers crossed as ever and I've got lots of locations on my secret to do list! Well here we go again, the treadmill is moving and despite an inaccurate weather forecast from the BBC as usual I took no notice and after two abortive directions finally ended up in the M6 roadworks and the dreaded D road to Stoke on Trent where I managed an fairly easy session with Potteries / First buses including a couple of their latest heritage liveried buses which cheered me up a little after encountering a rude and reckless lady driver early on who did the old look no vision trick with her hand in front of her face. Well thats two years in a row now for Potteries, I wonder what trick the drivers will come up with next although of course to be fair all the other from all the companies were very friendly although naturally being bus drivers not as enthusiastic as truck drivers. Anyway it was way under freezing last night, the car both covered in frost and took a bit of de-icing. The next trip for buses may well be next week as the weather then looks as if it could work in my favour but I may well get another truck film under my belt before then. We had a good New Year chat with Tina and Max on skype this evening and managed to keep up with our favourite soaps on tv thanks to technology. I also got a few of our raw footage extracts on to the Youtube channel plus obviously clips from the Potteries. Is there a way though of getting an English English spell check on this machine, so sick of ones from ex colonial one time terrorists over the pond. Cups raised to Mexico who have so delightfully thumbed their noses at the clots who delude their selves north of the border we have similar here. I pondered as I filmed and sometimes paused awaiting the next bus to heave into view on the last time I heard perambulator used in real action, I think I was about 9 or 10 at Priory Rd bus stop and it was Mrs Fenwick-Owen, might have got her name slightly wrong, she was the toff in the big house that they surrounded with council houses at Eastbourne, why did I recall that, well I met a lovely chap at Stoke and I'm so ashamed I couldn't make time to have a tea with him, he used to be a wedding photographer but now has dementia but helps the people he trained and assisted him now so he gets to keep his hand in without the no doubt scary bits. Mandy and I scheduled out our spring concerts to book this afternoon, I realised I'd got a calendar you had to turn around each month rather than flip to the next sheet, little things like that can be stumbling blocks in fact life can also be that without trying. Mandy had a fall in the studio which also houses her ancient family wardrobe, she was ok but it makes your heart skip a beat. Life is so precious as are our friends and loved ones. The cleaners come tomorrow so we must tidy up and change the bed before they arrive and then make myself scarce. We really need to decorate our bedroom and the carpet in the lounge and dining room needs renewing but the youngsters next door, Gemma and Simon are getting theirs cleaned tomorrow before they leave for their new house so Mandy thought we could get the carpet people to do ours. At least it would do for a while. I need to visit the shed people to get the 30' shed ordered, will it really happen. Mandy saw a Mulberry handbag in the Trafford Centre today, it was a real bargain , a huge saving.. no I won't say how much but when you just need a shed or handbag and have worked hard for the means to achieve it well the carpets and decorating can wait. Photos of course from Stoke. Our first blog of the New Year, we stayed up and watched the London fireworks and put up with the awful music, I suppose we could have turned the sound down. Anyway there was a local display going on in the distance which finished about 12.30pm and then we got to sleep and had a lay in this morning. No orders at all overnight but they have already started again this evening. Youtube seems quite dead, I expect folk have better things to do, I did look at some stuff on Flickr the other night but why would anyone post there when for better or worse Google has it sewn up with youtube. I'm working on more original masters for unedited archives on Youtube and for download on our shop, these are ongoing lots more goodies including brilliant Glasgow and superb German scenes but so much more. I'm also starting to load up the video tapes as a resource, I'd better keep track of everything though! Actually I'm doing three things at once now, typing the blog afterwards putting more of this years DVD output on as downloads and copying Standard8 cine and upstairs in the studio downloading 8mm tapes to digitise and upload. Yes who says mean can't multitask. I do have to have a bit of a run around every now and then to make sure all my plates are still spinning, the cine is prone to dust or hairs getting in the gate and ruining the image. The joys of yesteryear but when everything was spot on didn't it look good when projected. There is some Belgian Vicinal going through at the moment, hardly looks as if its been shown at all, amazing image quality from the David Howarth collection in the PMP archive.Is is really quite good fun watching scenes I haven't viewed for decades, I've forgotten how much I have, its not just the trams and trolleys but the street scenes in genera, it's on Italy now ends with Spain and Portugal-sublime. After we had had our lunch banana , yes back to dieting two days week we had a drive out to the Wrirral and did the coastal run, bright and breezy and quite chilly. Not too much light cloud cover forecast, looks mainly like sun which isn't so good for bus film work but we now have a list of destinations to work through in January. Some shots from West Derby and New Brighton this afternoon. A few more shots from yesterday at Appleton Thorn near Lymm, Cheshire. |
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