The sun was out or subdued sun and was spot on for the job in hand. The clouds gathered at 2pm on the button which was my intended departure time and I was home just after 4pm in time to put an undercoat on the stairs banisters I'd stripped yesterday. I can get them painted on Wednesday before we go out on the Polio Fellowship afternoon, although latest indications are that we are down to 9 people! So needless to say we have photos from Wakefield then Hull. Mandy took a call from an irate woman who had ordered buses in Harlow, she was very upset that it had nothing but buses in Harlow and that I made disparaging remarks about the place. I think we could have a competition with suggestions welcome which would tell me if there are good things about Harlow as I've never seen any yet. Anyway this now joins the legendary remark that a truck dvd had nothing but trucks on it, a matching pair but it has taken 30 years to get it!
We always enjoy the trip to Cambridge, during the Showbus Duxford years we used to do it on the Saturday of necessity as I was still working then, we always seemed to join a group of others with the same interest, quite a little clutch would develop. We'll be there in the morning tomorrow whatever the weather does. Today I went firstly to Wakefield to the rail interchage estate, really quite dead compared to when the warehouses were all occupied, I tried the 66 park and that was even worse to gave up and headed for Hull, the dock traffic was almost constant a location which has steadily improved and got busier over the years and offers not Stobarts so much or Malcolms but a great variety of other hauliers with all types of lorries usually with a few heavy jobs. The sun was out or subdued sun and was spot on for the job in hand. The clouds gathered at 2pm on the button which was my intended departure time and I was home just after 4pm in time to put an undercoat on the stairs banisters I'd stripped yesterday. I can get them painted on Wednesday before we go out on the Polio Fellowship afternoon, although latest indications are that we are down to 9 people! So needless to say we have photos from Wakefield then Hull. Mandy took a call from an irate woman who had ordered buses in Harlow, she was very upset that it had nothing but buses in Harlow and that I made disparaging remarks about the place. I think we could have a competition with suggestions welcome which would tell me if there are good things about Harlow as I've never seen any yet. Anyway this now joins the legendary remark that a truck dvd had nothing but trucks on it, a matching pair but it has taken 30 years to get it! We had a superb night at the mini folk festival at Clonter last night and a splendid super, lots more to eat than usual, three helpings of chicken pie. Today we had a lay in then to St Oswalds and back for a light lunch, then I started the decorating taks. Pain stripper on the banister caps and down to wood ready for repainting perhaps one day this week, Wednesday is favourite as midday we go on a Polio Fellowship visit to Gordale garden centre with cream tea so I'll do the undercoat Wednesday first thing if I don't get a chance tomorrow. Thursday needs to be not too far away as we have a family meal in the evening in Manchester. I've got yet more DVDs to digital download on our shop right back to 3871. I've also managed to file morte from 2015-17 photos from the backlog. I was chuffed with the Halifax and Bradford visits last week first time ever everything done the same day, edited DVD, made cover put on to digital download, filed photos and put the photos on Smugmug. Here are some of the recent DVD releases all also available as downloads I'm studying the weather outlook for the week, tomorrow looks like trucks at Hull/Wakefield area then Tuesday buses at Cambridge, Wed is already taken up and Thursday it depends how the cloud and sun are balanced but I can't go too far. Reconnecting with our youth to a degree, it's folk music night at Clonter opera farm with the delightful Izzy putting on another alternative programme in support of the main reasons for its existence namely the summer school and training for young singers and music outreach to schools. We'll have supper there which save us cooking. It was a relaxed but productive day. I got the bathroom groutung done and also smartened up the floor tiles in the shower area. I also managed to get more DVDs loaded to the digital download facility in the shop and put all the many photos I'd filed over the past few weeks on to the Smugmug site so a few thousand more for you to look at and purchase prints or download digital files. I'v got the discs our ready for all the DVD orders received to save time on Monday. It looks as if the weather could be fine next week, obviously truck film is a need as we have had a week of buses but we will tick some more bus locations off our list. On top of all that I put my order through for the Oxford Diecasts I fancied from the latest list although there are some which seem to be a couple of years late coming. I also filed some photos from the backlog of mixed material, I was working through 2015 no less! Here are shots from Bradford yesterday afternoon. Pleasant evening at The Crown, chatted with John and Tabatha who now live at the end of our road, great to have our 'local' back. An earlyish start this morning for myself, a very quiet drive to Halifax, no hold ups on the motorway just the M60 roadworks with 50mph limit but never stopped, best run out for yonks. I managed to get all the rush hours services including many on school runs, friendly drivers as ever Walsh's are always very enthusiastic but First joined the fun thanks to the large proportion of Asian drivers who welcome the camera and even stop to pose. The only negative, I was going to have a coffee and cake on arrival at Costa Coffee, really horrible people, gone back to having 'options' so you can no longer just ask for a medium latte to have in with a Bakewell, no it's twenty questions once more and as I couldn't understand a word the girl said she got a right strop on so departed and TA review to follow. We really need an upmarket coffee chain, the market is wide open plenty of low end stuff from Greggs to Startrek etc. After Halifax it was but a short run to Bradford. It had rained over the tops fist thing but dried up before I reached Haifax, the lighting remained spot on for easy filming until I'd finished at Halifax. A little low level hassle from Asian kids, once very polite but now starting to get a nuisance. How come they are wandering around in the middle of the day. Masses of buses around Bradford both at the bus station, filmed both sides and to a lesser extent down nearer the town. The buses looked really shabby, the stuff from Huddersfield, all First and Keighley, nothing shines other than the nearly new ones which are thin on the ground. I wonder how long First is going to survive, only in Cornwall have I seen any investment for the future. So the slide show features Halifax, early this morning. Bradford and Halifax DVDs ready tonight will load to shop plus digital download if time permits. Must get recently filed photos to Smugmug pages, if I only had time... We had a bit of a lay in this morning after the long day yesterday in Swindon and Bath. Today I made the DVDs and covers plus loaded the DVD and digital uploads to the shop page. Todays slide show is from Bath yesterday afternoon. I'm going to file the still image files, still getting up to date with this never ending task. Roger came round to look at and load up the films I've made and sourced for the Battles Over night at St Oswalds on 11th November. It's out pub night at The Crown tonight and Saturday we are at Clonter for a folk night. The grass I've seeded in the front bare lawn patches is just starting to take hold and spout a bit so I'm holding off mowing although it looks a bit of a state. We went shopping in Northwich, not a lot else to report, clips for the two new DVDs are on Youtube. The day has just flown by. All went to plan, 5.30 departure from home arrived just before 9am at Swindon. Nicely bright but diffused lighting which allowed almost any angle for photography, photos in tonight's slide show. I met with our friend Stuart Curwen who is now with Go Ahead, all the drivers were as friendly as ever even though we no longer have the facility of an 'official' visit. The time flew by but I did well and it wasn't that long before I was on the 1a with a very friendly driver back to the outlet centre where Mandy had just emerged there being no phone signal there. She had got a bargain pair of Hug boots in the centre. So it was time to move on to Bath, the weather went very warm and sunny, thankfully Bath isn't too bad with sun although the lighting was challenging so I used the auto settings which enable me to get good shots even in sun and shade mixed but I'd rather use speed based exposures, a one hundredth gives the digital displays a true rendition. I met a pleasant fellow enthusiast, his chat might have come out on the shots, he had some strong feelings on certain sections of the community fingers crossed you can't hear them! I'm busy getting all the DVD orders cleared, todays film downloaded and printing up a stock of discs, we need to be thinking about supplies for the Christmas rush, when we return from Madagascar it will probably be all hands to the deck so a stock of everything is essential. The back of October before I go I should be able to reapply for moneterisation of our Youtube account, as I've no idea why we were delisted it is hard knowing what to do, I've eliminated all the old cine film as that seems to cause some problems and likewise all the bus spot ultra and other recent uploads to widescreen and enhanced as they quoted 'duplication' but won't actually tell you what it is that they have issue with. Typical arrogant American company but they have us by the short and curlies. So at present no funding for PMP other than order, press all you like on Youtube but we get nothing until I tell you. I had to go back to Stockport to finish off replacement scenes for those which had dodgy exposure issues, flickering sky no less! Anyway that didn't take that long and it was cloudy but bright so perfect conditions. Then I drove to Trafford Park to see how progress is going on the tram and alterations to our film spot. Cones only now, the huge fences are largely replaced. I found a new parking spot as the old place has also been redeveloped. It should be fine next year when it is cleared up and landscaped. I also found the Stobart depot nearby by carrying on past the parking spot, there is another parking spot for this as well. Just need the weather to go with it. The Stockport and Rochdale DVDs are already made and on our shop page in both DVD and digital download versions. If the weather stays as is promised we should be in Swindon tomorrow morning and Bath in the afternoon. Also possible in the next few days Halifax and Bradford. Here are some photos from Rochdale on Monday. A fairly huge quantity of DVD orders went out early this morning. Another month gone and just four more weeks before we are off to Reunion and Madagascar in November with friend Sue. The weather was very clear and sunny today ( to start) and we had our first frost of the autumn. Mandy went out to meet up with Barbara a friend from council work days. I decided that I'd get some buses filmed, both the two DVDs on Showbus are done , I need to get the covers done right now. I went firstly to Stockport, nothing new but there was lots of activity and it didn't take long to clock up well over an hour. Then I phoned Mandy , she was still out so I decided to follow up Rochdale, the sun was now obscured and the lighting seemed just right. What a dump but what friendly bus divers, thank goodness I found something positive, also met a lady refugee from Congo who was a journalist there, she was attracted by the camera which reminded her of her work in Africa. Not after anything, just a chat.. her first European language was French ( why come to England then). Anyway we round off with a few more Showbus shots from yesterday, now to get those covers done and edit the two greater Manchester films done today. |
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