Sky Watch Friday: Manchester Rain

Here is my contribution this week to Skywatch Friday.

Where is the sky?

Well you don't always have to look up to see the sky - when it rains you see it reflected in the puddles, especially in Manchester which has a reputation for rain second only to Bergen.

The lights are on green, the arrow points left, we are on our way to find a new sky to view.

ABC Wednesday - J is for Journey's End

I started ABC Wednesday in round 1 with K is for Knott End on Sea and now at J in round 4 having done the entire alphabet three times, it is time to stop.

It is an appropriate time also because we are moving on ourselves from the house we have lived in for over twenty years and saying goodbye to the daffodils under the willow tree which we grew from a sapling.

Although all the wiring is in place at our new home, it will take British Telecom nearly three weeks to connect the line. So we shall have no home internet for a while.

I have scheduled posts on Hyde Daily Photo for the period while I'm offline and co-opted our good friend Rune Eide of Visual Norway to keep an eye both there and here to squash any malevolent bugs that might arrive in the comment boxes.

ABC Wednesday posts will continue on my photoblog sithenah.

We'll be starting a new journey shortly and will doubtless be back here in a bit telling you all about it.

For more J posts visit ABC Wednesday.

One Man & His Dog? Not Exactly!

ABC Wednesday - I is for Isolde in Innsbruck

In 2002 we went on a 9 day coach tour through 9 countries.


Day 7 was Innsbruck. I left my wife in the hotel at St. Anton and went on the coach trip to Innsbruck. There we picked up our guide, Isolde, and journey up to the Bergisel. Here is a small park dedicated to Andreas Hofer. Originally an innkeeper, livestock trader and wine merchant, in 1809 Hofer fought at Bergisel against 30,000 Bavarian soldiers who were fighting for Napoleon. In 1810 he and his army were defeated in the fourth battle of Bergisel. On the orders of Napoleon he was later put to death.


Towering above us was the Olympic ski-jump. The original jump was destroyed in 2000 and a new one was being built. As we stood looking down over the town and the Basilika Wilten, Isolde tells us that the ski-jumpers, waiting to jump can look left or right. To the left is the hospital; to the right is the cemetery. Most jumpers are well-focussed and there are few accidents.


From Bergisel we drive down to the Basilika. A green-liveried tram decorated with images of Mozart passes by.


Later I am free to wander around the lovely ancient streets on my own. You can read about the rest of my day on our Europe 2002 journal.

For more I posts visit ABC Wednesday.

ABC Wednesday - H is for Helsinki

In 2006 we visited Helsinki.


It was a hot day.


There was a lot to see. The above three shots are all taken from the same place.

A view from outside the railway station can be found on Sithenah.


This is our coach outside the Temppeliaukio Church; the final stop on our tour of the city.

For more H posts visit ABC Wednesday.

ABC Wednesday - G is for Grassington

This is the main square in Grassington, Wharfedale, Yorkshire. These photographs are from a visit we made in September 2006.


Now some folk call it a village but this building with the clock was originally the Town Hall.

You probably don't want to know what is in the tank, being towed down Main Street by that tractor.


Another view of the Square from the other side. This time I've used various techniques to produce an artistic impression. The original photograph can be seen on the Geograph website.

To find more "G" posts this week, visit ABC Wednesday.

When is a Bridge not a Bridge?

For our contribution on the first Monday of the month to Broer som Binder [Bridges between] today we are in Manchester.

This certainly looks like a bridge but is it?

It lies across Gorton Upper Reservoir to the East of Manchester. I strongly suspect that at one time you could indeed walk across and there are signs of a footpath on the far bank. The curved stonework along the top appears to have been added at a later date to stop people using it as a bridge. The spiked ironwork stretching either side is another added deterent to the foolhardy.

On my earlier post Skywatch at Gorton Lower Reservoir you can see the other side of the bridge where some swans are swimming.

The reservoir is presently very low, but it would seem that at one time the water level was much higher. The reservoirs were built in 1826 and were then Manchester's principal water supply.

More details of and links to other participants to Broer som Binder can be found on Visual Norway.