I had to get back home sharpish as i had a meeting with Ann our church Reader who is giving me help with my ministry course. Then it was a dash back and early dinner as our group were meeting pre course in Chester at the City Inn for a drink. We have a three week break from meetings but an assignment to get in plus the marks for our first work come through on Thursday. Here are the shots I did manage to get this morning. Tomorrow we have a reception late afternoon at the RNCM with Andy Burnham the mayor and then a concert at the MMUSU and after concert party with the artists. Wednesday is scheduled for filming as is Friday, fingers crossed.
I learned a valuable lesson today and that is not to take too much notice of tips from others about prospective photo locations, a tip from a client at Manchester Boyle St suggested a spot on the road from Stockport to Buxton, I don't really think it existed or at best it is right in the middle of Buxton. It took ages battling through the rush hour traffic via Stockport, it's a deal easier via Macclesfield. At the end of the day I got a few snatched shots and a few minutes of film which I'll put on Youtube tomorrow. I did find a half useful location as I had surveyed the route previously, there were certainly lots of interesting old Fodens and even ERFs about first thing but they dried up by the time I was set up near Doveholes. I had to get back home sharpish as i had a meeting with Ann our church Reader who is giving me help with my ministry course. Then it was a dash back and early dinner as our group were meeting pre course in Chester at the City Inn for a drink. We have a three week break from meetings but an assignment to get in plus the marks for our first work come through on Thursday. Here are the shots I did manage to get this morning. Tomorrow we have a reception late afternoon at the RNCM with Andy Burnham the mayor and then a concert at the MMUSU and after concert party with the artists. Wednesday is scheduled for filming as is Friday, fingers crossed. It seems to have been a constant slog of late and it's pleasant to have a few glasses of wine and relax, today at St Oswald's was the children's gift service, lots of Christmas presents for less fortunate boys and girls which Tom and myself will probably drop off to the Salvation Army at Northwich on Tuesday. I'm fairly up to speed with my course work, I got the proposal submitted last week for my assignment and I'd like to get the work finished before Christmas. Our group at college is meeting at 6pm tomorrow for a drink before our last session and then a three week break over Christmas but there is so much to do that it is just one thing less to worry about. I even spotted an outbreak of woodworm which needs treating at St Oswalds. The Christmas Showstopper concert was thoroughly enjoyable although as they say you can't please all of the people.. etc. The weather hasn't been anything like as bad as predicted in our region, late afternoon fresh snow created more slush which will freeze overnight, these conditions make it impossible for Mandy to go out. I'm hoping to get over to Stockport on the Manchester to Buxton route and get some shots in the morning, it will be bright sunshine against white snow. Then I have a meeting with on of my mentors for the course in the afternoon then university in the evening. Tuesday we have a reception with Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and concert of the university. Wednesday is a filming day, maybe Peterborough, Thursday the polio fellowship meeting at Ellesmere Port then Friday another film day. Here are shots of the covers for our latest DVD releases, I'm up to date with everything at present and trying to turn my attention to some archive material. Next here are some photos from the Christmas Showstopper weekend at St Oswalds and our parish meal last week. Along the line were washing up, cleaning the toilet, salting the paths, no wonder I feel tired There was a substantial snowfall overnight so my first job of the day was to get it cleared from the path and driveway , Sue was still with us after our trip to the RNCM last night but she didn't want to get stuck in further snow and had checked that it was all clear down in Cannock so headed off late morning while Mandy and I went round and got the post away and then went to St Oswalds to do our afternoon stint on the tea and coffee stand. I was mainly on washing up duty.Not many orders have come in today but yesterday saw another record smashed on our Youtube channel with the highest ever daily revenue plus this last month of the year looks to be setting yet more highs and supporting the PMP archive on several exciting trips being lined up for 2018. Among the first will possibly be a trip to Singapore and Malaysia with buses and trucks featured. We are back at St Oswalds early this evening ready to help with the concert which is the culmination of our Christmas Showstopper event. I've found time to load more material on Youtube, they have released all the embargoes material from earlier in the week for advertising revenue although in turn the latest uploads on Hong Kong have received the block and been appealed, what a fiasco it all is. Tonight a quickie with views from the house first thing and this afternoon at the church. Good news at last the Youtube appeal system is working and all our advert embargoed clips are now earning revenue, this is important to you and me both as it helps pay for our future film excursions worldwide and especially important as the traditional UK bus or lorry rally scene has really taken a nose dive. Computer sales are still buoyant, we've just returned from Manchester and there was a real clutch of orders via our own shop on this site plus Amazon, EBay is lagging far behind and to be honest it's a pain uploading on it, they don't make it easy at all. I'll get the covers done for this weeks films over the weekend and load them on the shop. Tonight we were at the RNCM and saw their wonderful Christmas production of the Cinderella story Massenet's Cendrillon which had marvelous singing and sets, superb production - next week we attend a reception with the mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and have a concert at Manchester University students union next door to the RNCM. It's late now and we are going to catch up with the soaps. Bird watch on the back garden, we had a pair of Redwings this morning, they are seen in the fields sometimes but a first for our garden. How blessed we are. The Showstopper weekend at the church seems to be going well here are some shots from early afternoon, tomorrow we expect a lot more visitors and have the evening concert to look forwards to. I had every film clip I'd uploaded this week eliminated from advertising revenue by Google, they really are out of control and their crawler cannot be real as it cannot tell between violence and buses, profanity and lorries. Help is on the way as they have now gone back to doing a manual review on appeal when you have over 10k subscribers which at 23k we are well in so perhaps the nightmare is coming to an end but they must be able to come up with something better some of the remarks are very suspicious but they get through ok. I got my proposal for my next essay ready and have copied it to my friends for their review, I can get that away well before the deadline next Monday and the actual essay doesn't need to be in until January 2018. I bet that soon creeps up on us through. It was mayhem at St Oswalds church this afternoon as set up for the Showstopper weekend continues with all the trees in place now the 12 days of Christmas crafts and goods go in , it looks as if folk will be working until the evening. I went round this morning with the DVDs of carols only to find vicar Jane had meant to say CD and not DVD so I spent the rest of the morning getting material on to CD which did work out ok. The weather has started to go very wintry with hail, snow and sleet coming down. We must get all our overseas Christmas cards ready tonight. I'm going back to lock up the church later. I've put a few more uploads on Youtube so i can test the water with the manual appeals. I've probably done a lot more but I can't remember so here are shots from Mansfield on Tuesday. It was a bit St Trinians at St Oswalds this afternoon! Dull and wet but still mild but snow looks as if it will hit us before the week is out but not that handy as I'm tied up after tomorrow and unless it lingers the Cat and Fiddle and or Woodhead will probably be all clear by Monday but if it is suitable I will doubtless be there to record it. It was our parish lunch at the Golden Pheasant in Plumley, it took up the entire afternoon, doesn't time fly when you are in good company. I also got the DVD orders cleared but the post office was full when we left so called in on our way home. The arrangements for the Showstopper weekend at the church are getting ever more frantic, I prepared two 3.5 hour carol discs to play in the background during the day to stop it feeling to quiet between visitors, who knows we may be stacked out with them, fingers crossed on that. I got the remainder of recent film footage edited and DVDs made, covers to do as yet. Tomorrow looks pretty dire for weather, our friend Sue arrives Friday lunchtime so film opportunities limited but there is always the chance of nipping to Lymm Poplar services up the road from us. The slide show this evening is of Rochdale after a look at the meal at lunch time, not bad food although where does Yorkshire pudding fit in? There are clips on Youtube of all this weeks film outings. Ann passed over some books for my next assignment on my ministry course, I need to get the proposal for my work by next Monday but the finished essay isn't required until the new year, they stop for three weeks over Christmas. I decided I'd cover Mansfield today as the weather wasn't suited to either Peterborough or Blackpool, it wasn't a bad decision as it tuned out. I was on the road by 6.30 and parked up sat Mansfield by 8.30am and soon made good progress although there didn't seem to be anything extra at the bus station in the morning rush hour.The drivers there are all super friendly as befits the East Midlands and unlike First at Rochdale nobody tries to drive 'blind' with Trent or Stagecoach in Mansfield! After getting done nice and early i thought I'd have a go at Newark, it has two independents plus Central but there wasn't anything obviously new and as I'd spotted a really busy roundabout/ junction just before getting to the station crossing I went back and luckily found a small parking space by a little track. It was sugar beet harvest time this plus what must always be a busy location was great albeit the light was far from perfect but I've already seen the photos some of which look quite good considering and I think it will be the same with the video. Hopefully I got enough for a DVD. It's certainly a place which I shall return to, lots of hauliers which we don't see over in Cheshire/Staffs and few of the big outfits like Stobarts or Malcolms for example. On the way back I got caught in the afternoon M6 gridlock and it took an hour and a half from Stoke to Knutsford, coming off the motorway is just about as bad as staying on, my knee feels very stiff after creeping along so much. I had a good cake at a Newark cafe spoilt though when they wanted 30p to use a debit card which will be illegal next month, I wonder how they do business in this day and age. Here on the PMP shop you can use just about every card you can imagine plus some of these latest methods although I'm only at the tap stage.The photos tonight are from the truck spot at Newark tomorrow I'll bring you Rochdale and then other nights Mansfield and Newark. Nothing much on the bus front at any of the locations aside from Trent which I think I've already recorded. Two more ticks off my list of locations still to be covered before year end. The weather wwassn't perfect a bit too much light rain or drizzle for comfort but generally ok and a satisfactory update on Oldham which we do seem to cover each year and then in the afternoon Rochdale with it's 'new' bus station which i haven't done so much. Also Rochdale offers 3 hours free parking roadside and car parks in the centre which is miles better than a lot of places including Oldham where parking is difficult at the best of times. No problems and some lovely friendly bus drivers at both locations just one First woman who buried her head in her hands and exited the Rochdale bus station including the pedestrian crossing with impaired vision, I bet that isn't in their driver's manual of procedures, chap sect para 2.1 measures for avoiding bus photographers c)... Well we know it takes all sorts but they put passengers at risk and for what reason, I've never ever had a satisfactory explanation as to what it is all about as they are being constantly filmed in the bus station, on many town centre roads, the licence plate is constantly recorded their movements known to many plus everyone with a mobile phone camera pointing in their direction. It's course night at Chester this evening so a bit of a rush to get dinner taken and on the road. Ann our Reader at St Oswalds has kindly sent me some material for investigation prior to my next essay and some course related books which she is kindly loaning and passing over at our parish meal on Wednesday. Tomorrow I had intended covering Peterborough, it's all subject to the lates weather updates before I go to bed it may turn out to be Blackpool who knows but getting two locations fully covered in a day at this time of year is only possible when they are close and both busy.Needless to say tonights photo coverage is from this trip and taken this morning at Oldham I've just put my camera away so you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the pictures from this evening at St Oswald's. It was another long day with preparations spilling over into the afternoon and starting again before teatime with so much going on at this time of year in the church that a bishops visit was probably the last thing we needed. There must be a good story about two lorry drivers and a bishop and our lych gate, the off man out, yes it was Bishop Keith who damaged his car and the pillar to the side gate stood firm. It was very good of him to come as it was his birthday and was only available for a last minute stand in for Bishop Libby who had a family bereavement. All went well but it was bound to have it's fraught moments. Then tomorrow night it's my course at Chester and it's our groups turn for the act of worship which means I'll be reading at three services in a row, life in the old dogs yet. I've loaded up some Blackpool tram archives to the Youtube site, it's gone from record to record this week shooting up to nearly 90K hits in a day and nearly 100k in the past month. The DVD orders are nearly all done, a coupl;e more came through before we left for the confirmation service. Mandy and Tom were received into the C of E so no more muttering in the ranks about them being RC, all we need now is to get the replacement church warden sorted. Out reader Ann is going to help me with course books and my proposals for my next essay. Filming visits, tomorrow Greater Manchester area starting with Oldham then perhaps Bury and Rochdale as time and weather permits , then Tuesday Peterborough. Photos from Manchester area in tonights slide show A dull day but it was probably OK for filming but as we were at Boyle St museum that wasn't of any consequence but it does look promising going ahead through next week and so far I'm thinking of Blackpool and Peterborough as two day trips perhaps Monday and Wednesday. My other free day is Thursday plenty on the hit list. Although quiet at the museum it was good to catch up with friends although the sick and wounded seem to grow in number each year and I think a few of our regulars must have fallen off the perch. Things are looking a bit better for POPS who now have a new secretary and are in discussions with Britannia stadium for a rally in 2018. The was quite a pile of DVD orders on all three of our shops when we got home but we'll leave them to tomorrow morning as I really didn't feel like going back to the museum tomorrow with the rush in the afternoon back for the bishops visit in the evening so we'll have a lay in . I must get the latest DVD covers made as we already have received orders for them, a few people are ready to press the go button the minute I list them, can't complain though. We are just thankful that with the internet businesses we aren't reliant so much on attending events which is very tiring. I did manage to get some photos outside the museum. Mandy by the way heard on the radio that our trip to Madagascar on October might not happen as they now have bubonic plague there! |
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