Photo of the Year 2009: Runner-up

The voting for Hyde DP Photo of the Year 2009 was very close this year.

At the end there was only 1 vote between the winner and the runner-up.

The winner with 177 votes was Market Street Chimney Pots.

With 176 votes the runner-up was Drystone Waller at Dunkirk Farm

You can see the winner on Hyde Daily Photo.

All twelve photographs, in full resolution, can be viewed on The Best of Hyde Daily 2009.

Many other daily blogs around the world have also participated in the special theme of Photo of the Year. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Here are the full results of the voting.

177 votes: Market Street Chimney Pots

I remember these skyline attractions well when I lived in Hyde some 40 years ago. As an avid photographer myself I also like the concept of photographing something from the past that may eventually only exist through photographs. Well done, even down to the authentic pigeon poo decorating the sides - for uniqueness of subject, quality - sharpness and color of photo - it makes me want to look at it more closely - it has atmosphere - speaks of hardworking city life, as it is still today and in days gone by. -it is aesthetically pleasing - unique to UK and not to the tropics - I always wanted one like those in my back garden to put a plant in - like the busy starlings.

176 votes: Drystone Waller at Dunkirk Farm

So much history and future in one image! - I've always liked stories about people living in the particular dp city/town - for the waller's expression.

120 votes: Winter Grazing

Those gorgeous horses - just love the romantic atmosphere of the shot - very appealing textures, tones - for the most unusual sight with horses - ever!

88 votes: Sunset on the Trail

I like the golden glow of the sun in this - for the best perspective and colors and the quintessential Hyde countryside.

80 votes: W.I. at Gee Cross Fete

It is colourful, clear and interesting - it is so typically British! - the women's stance, the items for sale, the intensity of involvement on their faces - the photographer has captured a moment in time that is absolutely authentic - quality, colors and movement - not a photo I would put on my wall, but a genuinely historical moment - atmosphere of the stall.

65 votes: Through My Wife's Eyes

It is unusual and original - outstanding reflection and a creative idea! - curious style - quirky perspective.

55 votes: Heron on the Peak Forest Canal

What a beautiful bird! - great capture.

49 votes: Green Lane Pool

The reflections of the sky and trees in the pond are wonderful - rich in nature, beautiful.

37 votes: Quiet Sunday

The Woolworths story sums up 2009 - wonderful composition - The girls are sat on one of Hydes 'Wishing Benches'... during the week you can see poor drunkards 'wishing' they had enough money to get into the local pubs.

32 votes: Hyde Park Bridge

Gorgeous! I'm jealous you have such lovely parks.

30 votes: Mottram Cricket Club

Sharp and clean shot, really captured the moment - for the English green

18 votes: Hare & Hounds at Mid-Summer

We had lunch there in May on a Monday and it was so busy. We loved the long light evenings, sadly it's something we don't have here in Queensland.

Many thanks to all who voted.

Hyde Photo of the Year 2008: Runner-up

A footpath runs from Four Lane Ends at the top of Higham Lane down to Lower Higham Visitor Centre in Werneth Low Country Park.

About half way along is a kissing gate which gives access to Rye Field.

Today's theme on Hyde DP is Photo of the Year. I couldn't pick just one out of all the photos I'd published this year, so selected twelve contenders, created a web page, and asked all my readers to vote for their choice. I want to thank all the people who took the trouble to vote. The winning picture is shown on Hyde DP. The runner-up is shown above.

Here are the results, together with links to the original postings and some comments from voters. All twelve photographs can be viewed together at The Best of Hyde Daily 2008

199 votes
Path from River to Canal
a brilliant image ~~ excellent artistic merit ~~ extremely evocative photo ~~ a beautiful composition and the black & white enhances it ~~ a very romantic english scene ~~ wonderful perspective.

137 votes
Kissing Gate to Rye Field
as a kid I walked through many of those same country gates when I used to walk with my grandfather on the Low ~~ Werneth Low has many happy memories of growing up a walk was always a cheap day out ~~ I love how you can see out over the town ~~ reminds me so much of the countryside around Hyde, where I was born ~~ the texture of the stone wall is awesome.

101 votes
Border Post
I love the scene depicted ~~ it shows serenity.

87 votes
Newton St Mary's
some of my relatives are buried there ~~ like the light and shadow.

82 votes
Out into the Light
The pigeon was very helpful at sitting still, you must have crept around it! difficult light shines into a tunnel ~~ love the hazy effect.

82 votes
Close-up on Time
I have looked up at that clock so many times ~~ beautifully done ~~ being an ex builder the brickwork and stonework are a delight.

76 votes
Authentic Indian Cuisine
appealing on many levels - color, composition, subject, the figure ~~ I wish I could visit this food stall ~~ it contains delicious morsels.

63 votes
Horsemen at Windy Ridge
I love anything equestrian and this is a particularly good photo, framed as it is by the plants ~~ like the fluffy willow herb in the foreground.

57 votes
Gee Cross in Springtime
purely for nostalgia as both my wife and I were brought up in Gee Cross, almost too long ago to remember ~~ for the relationship between heritage and youth.

41 votes
April Fool's Day
the boy's bored look wins it for me.

23 votes
Hole in the Road
maddening but fascinating.

17 votes
Jolly Carter
can remember it as a boy about 1937.

ABC Wednesday - V is for Voting

On 1st January 2009, the CDPB theme will be "Photo of the Year".

Now I can't decide myself which one I should use, so have selected twelve contenders for the honour, and I am asking readers to vote for their favourites.

The full photographs and a voting form can be found at Best of Hyde Daily Photo 2008.

All readers will have 6 votes at their disposal. You can put all six on one photo or spread them out giving one each to six separate photographs, three each to two, two each to three or any combination you choose so long as the total votes given is a total of six.

Voting will close at noon GMT on Saturday 27th December 2008.

The winning picture will be posted at Hyde Daily Photo on the 1st January 2009. The runner-up and full details of the results will appear on Ackworth born, gone West.

More V posts can be seen on the ABC Wednesday Anthology blog.

Others can be found via the ABC Wednesday with Mister Linky which carries a registry of participants.

Note: Please visit Best of Hyde Daily Photo 2008 to cast your votes and look at the full pictures.

Do not vote on the basis of these thumbnails - there is no "chimney" included here! Votes made via comments to this post will not be counted.

ABC Wednesday - M is for Marshside

For the third week running we are featuring Southport. This time we are going slightly up the coast to the area known as Marshside.


Here there is an RSPB reserve and a carpark. The picture above was taken in 1999 when our son Craig started attending Arden College, an independent specialist Further Education College.


Often, either before or after collecting him from or delivering him to college at the start or end of term or half-term, we would purchase some fish and chips, drive down to Marshside and admire the views across the Ribble estuary. On a clear day you can easily see Blackpool. This and the three pictures below are from April 2003.


Across the nearby marshes is Southport Pier and here you can see the roller-coaster at the now closed down and decaying Pleasureland.


This is a closer look at the end of the pier and the edge of the "sand road".


According to Shoreline Management sand has been extracted commercially from many parts of the Sefton coast since the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and continues today at the Horse Bank, Southport.

Extraction began in February 1972, with a limit of 200,000 tons of sand per annum. Only a small part of the area was of worthwhile quality and, from 1976, various permissions were granted for sand winning further seaward, until the quality was found satisfactory.

In December 1977, permission was granted for the winning of 400,000 tonnes per annum from 955 acres on the Horse Bank. Due to a restrictive covenant in the original sale of land, only the northern part of the area was worked until February 1981, when the restriction was lifted.

Sand has continued to be extracted from the Horse Bank since 1977. Southport sand has exceptional qualities for the foundry trade and for polishing glass. At present 20% to 30% of the sand extracted is transported to Doncaster where it is used to polish safety glass. In 2001 a Public Inquiry was held into a planning application to continue sand winning. The Inquiry determined that a further 10 years sand winning was permissible under monitored and controlled conditions, following which it could be reconsidered.

Evidence during the Inquiry demonstrated that the volume of Horse Bank had not declined since sand extraction commenced. The level of the shore was rising slowly and the crest of the Bank was flattening. The Horse Bank was slowly moving landward, but not at a rate that gave cause for concern. These trends were evident long before sand extraction commenced. It was established that the predominant source of shoreline accretion was from the bed of the Irish Sea. About 5% to 10% of the sand eroded from Formby moved onto the Horse Bank. Dredging deposits from the River Mersey provided a further source of accretion.

Mud deposition and salt marsh development were also evident long before the start of sand winning. They result from the large quantity of silt suspended in the River Ribble that is deposited on the shore whenever water conditions are calm.

The Planning Inspector concluded that sand winning from the Horse Bank had no demonstrable effect on coast erosion at Formby and no adverse effects on beach amenity or the coastal defences at Southport. In granting permission, a detailed monitoring programme was specified to ensure that adequate warning could be detected of any adverse physical or environmental trends.


On 17th July 2003 Craig left Arden College having collected the Lee Wilton Memorial Award as Student of the Year and we paid our last visit to Marshside, eating our chips and watching the yellow sand-winning lorries beyond the mellow yellow evening primroses.


This last picture is from 1999, taken from one of the carparks on Marine Drive about halfway between Marshside and Southport. It is just to show that sometimes the sea does reach Southport.

A bonus 1999 photograph can be found at my entry on ABC Wednesday.

More M posts can be seen on the ABC Wednesday Anthology blog.

Others can be found via the ABC Wednesday with Mister Linky which carries a registry of participants.

Manchester Blog Awards 2008

My blog Hyde Daily Photo has been shortlisted in the Best Neighbourhood Blog category.

Full details can be found on The Manchizzle.

Steve Sneyd nominated for 2008 Science Fiction Poetry Association Grandmaster

Photograph © 2001, Gerald England.

Steve Sneyd has been nominated by the Science Fiction Poetry Association for the 2008 SFPA Grandmaster award.

He faces tough competition as the other contenders are Ray Bradbury, Joe Haldeman, David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Marge Simon.

people who have vanished
pressed into poems in small defunct magazines
still breath sometimes athwart my dreams

he wrote in Tributary Fractions which I published in The Hallamshire & Osgoldcross Poetry Express back in 1973.

I've published numerous poems by Steve Sneyd over the years in the magazines I edited, as well as his collection A Mile Beyond The Bus.

Two of his talks have been archived on Zimmerzine

• The Number Of Language — writing poetry the OULIPO Way
• The Inclusion Of Poetry In Novels

and you can read brief reviews of some his other collections on NHI Review.

World Astrotipuritura Championships

I have just been informed that I am now a World Astrotipuritura Champion.
The full story is to be found on the World Astrotipuritura Championship website.

The "tipuritura" (from "tipat" in Romanian = scream) is the shortest poetic form in Romania, created in the northern region of Maramures to be screamed at folkloric parties. In the 1930s, inspired by the tragicomic spirit of the tipuritura, Stan Ioan Patras founded the Merry Cemetery in Sapanta (also in the Maramures zone) by realizing artistic works and writing short humorous poems on its tombs.

After 1995, Andrei Dorian Gheorghe adapted astronomically this poetic species, published an essay, Tipuritura - A Kind Of Romanian Haiku, in The Art of Haiku 2000 (edited in U.K. by Gerald England and New Hope International), and performed a few own astrotipurituras at

• the International Cosmopoetry Festival during SARM's EuRoEclipse Perseids Event 1999 in Targoviste (Romania)
• the Astropoetry Show (Astroshow) of the International Meteor Conference 1999 in Frasso Sabino (Italy)
• NASA's Leonid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign Workshop 2000 in Tel-Aviv (Israel).

The World Astrotipuritura Championship had the following rules

1. Each work must have two rhymed lines.
2. Each line must have seven or eight syllables.
3. Each work must have an astronomical content.
4. Each work must include (gallows) humour.

The finalists of the first World Astrotipuritura Championship were invited by the organizers generally after their achievements in astropoetry (astronomical poetry) in the last years or represent the most important people who have marked SARM's Cosmopoetry Festival history.

SARM (Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy) is the authority which patronized this World Championship). All astrotipurituras and connected works are presented in two languages:

• English (official for the foreign guests)
• Romanian (official for the finalists from SARM's country)

The Romanian translations from the English and the English translations from the Romanian were made by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe.

My contribution was:
Mars passes through the Great Bear
Is there anybody there?

Marte langa Ursa Mare:
"Cineva-i acolo oare?"

Gerald England

Our Eight Hand Gang leader contributed:
The Moon hangs pale above the trees -
Is it really ripe, green cheese?

Luna peste pomi se pierde -
O fi coapta branza verde?

I wonder if there's life on Mars?
Do they drive around in cars?

Ma-ntreb de-i viata pe Marte.
Au ei masini ca la carte?

Missed! The asteroid whizzed past;
Unfortunately, not the last.

Asteroid scos din turma.
Pacat ca nu-i cel din urma.

John Francis Haines
The other UK contributors are Steve Sneyd, Mandy Smith, Geoffrey H. Grayer, David Turner and Alastair McBeath.

A couple of awards

I have something of an ambivalent attitude towards memes and awards in blogland.

They seem to come along in droves at times and like pyramid selling and chain letters perpetuate themselves by encouraging recipients to pass them on to several others.

I often cringe a bit when I see side-bars on blogs adorned with numerous awards. If there are only one or two, then they attest to a blog that is genuinely liked and admired, but when it reaches half a dozen I wonder if the blogger is perhaps more obsessed with obtaining awards than really providing good content.

However, it is nice to get a little award from time to time and provided it is well meant and sent with some thought, then I'm happy to accept.

This "keep up the good work" award came from Dick of Eye on Texel. He actually awarded it to my Hyde Daily Photo blog.


Thanks Dick; it is much appreciated as your own blog is one I visit regularly. You always have a great variety of photos on show.

I back-tracked through six links to find the originator of the award at Gone Back South.

Rune E of Visual Norway gave me this "blogging with a purpose" award.


Thank you Rune; I really appreciate you thinking of me in this way.

I've traced the origin of this back to Blogging with a purpose. [dead link removed] In this August 4th 2007 post, the blogger writes

Don’t you just love getting an award? It is pretty fun to receive any kind of award, but it is even more fun to receive an award that means something. Back in April I started an award called The Blogging with a Purpose Award. It took it about three months to get back around to me. Yesterday a newer friend of mine awarded me the Blogging with a Purpose Award, not even knowing that I originated it! I talked with her about the award, wondering if I should post it or not. She told me that I should because a lot of people don’t know that I started the award. I have made an updated award banner and rewritten the rules.
...
Rules:
1. Awarded parties must nominate five people who have not received the award.
2. The blogs that receive the award must serve some purpose.
3. In their post about the award they need to link back to this entry.
4. Awarded parties must post the award banner on their site. The banner must remain linked to this site.

Subsequent recipients have ignored rule 3 linking back only to the blog that made the award. Well I've defered to that rule, as the origin of these awards needs acknowleging.

Whilst I can certainly think of of far more than five blogs who deserve both these awards I won't actually be agreeing to abide by rule 1.

Ted Slade Award 2008

The Ted Slade Award for services to poetry has this year been awarded to Connie Pickard co-founder of the Morden Tower series of poetry readings.

As a previous recipient of the award I extend my congratulations to her.

Best of Hyde Daily 2007: Runner up

Today's theme on Hyde DP is Photo of the Year. I couldn't pick just one out of all the photos I'd published this year, so selected twelve contenders, created a web page, and asked all my readers to vote for their choice. I want to thank all the people who took the trouble to vote. The winning picture is shown on Hyde DP. The close runner-up is shown above.

Here are the results, together with links to the original postings and some comments from voters. All twelve photographs can be viewed together at The Best of Hyde Daily 2007

157 votes ~~ February 10th: ~~ St Thomas the Apostle.

that tilting headstone just knocks me out — love the unique architecture, quaint yet the window is grand for its size — the green grass provides a sense of life to the otherwise sad subject

152 votes ~~ October 12th: ~~ Captain Clarke Bridge.

the sweeping circles and arches here are delightful — always loved the walk up each side of the canal — walks along the canal in our courting days — brings back memories of youth rowing under it — it is a beautiful piece of construction — admire the craftsmanship that went into building it — wonder how many men were engaged and how long it took to build? — as a young boy enjoyed many a summer down by the canal, happerly playing, and watching all the beautiful boats gingerly passing by

111 votes ~~ August 3rd: ~~ Grapes Hotel.

I'll be drinking a few in there over Christmas — my friend's father used to run the place in the early 1960s and we explored every inch of the place — slipping out of Hyde Chapel Saturday dances for an "underage" pint as a morale booster

107 votes ~~ October 14th: ~~ Tit Feeding.

what a sweet little birdie

101 votes ~~ February 9th: ~~ Pylons.

like the bleak nature of it

58 votes ~~ March 20th: ~~ Market Carousel.

great memories of my childhood in Hyde — happy childhood memories of Hyde, and the "dead dog pie stall" on the market — makes me think of the painting "A Northern Saturday" a truely spectacular depiction of Hyde

58 votes ~~ June 29th: ~~ Seal Sculpture.

for the pedestrian's open-mouthed stare

49 votes ~~ April 24th: ~~ Gone.

well spotted, and not always there, the way the crane frames the roof is great — heres to a new Hyde with a cheeky old reminder looking on (the Town Hall that is)

37 votes ~~ February 28th: ~~ Motorbike.

on the basis of the sign you managed to include as well; 'Cool Mexican' the biker most certainly isn't!!

28 votes ~~ March 10th: ~~ Bandstand.

the lighting and colours are lovely! — my grandfather used to take me to listen to the band concerts and to sail my toy sailing ship.

28 votes ~~ March 19th: ~~ Fallen Logs.

looks like somene left behind a giant pair of green pants

19 votes ~~ March 2nd: ~~ Great Norbury Street.

walking home after work at Hyde Station 1950

ABC Wednesday - V is for Voting

I need all your votes.

Hyde Daily Photo is one of more than 300 websites worldwide that post a daily picture of their home town or city. On the first of each month, many of them post a picture according to a selected theme. On 1st January 2008, the theme will be "Photo of the Year".

Now I cannot decide myself which one I should use, so have selected twelve contenders for the honour. The thumbnails above don't really do them justice. I've posted the original photos at Hyde Photo of the Year 2007, where there are links to the original postings that carry explanatory text and comments.

Anyone and everyone is free to cast up to 6 votes for the pictures of their choice. You can use the form on that page to vote. You all have six votes which you may distribute as you feel fit. You can give all six votes to one picture; one vote each to six; three to one and three to another; two votes each to three pictures; or any combination provided the total votes you cast adds up to six.

Voting will close at midnight GMT on December 29th 2007.

The winning picture will be posted at Hyde Daily Photo on the 1st January 2008. The runner-up and full details of the results will appear here.

ABC Wednesday - N is for Nobel Peace Center

N is for Nobel Peace Center.

The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo is in what was originally the old railway station Vestbanen. The station closed in 1989 and the Peace Center opened in 2005. As you can tell it was a rainy day when I was there.

A photograph of the museum from the other direction can be found on Oslo Daily Photo.


My second photo is a closeup of the windows underneath which are engraved the three great buzzwords:

BROADMINDEDNESS

HOPE

COMMITMENT


The Peace Prize is awarded annually and the presentation ceremony is held at the Oslo City Hall with the Norwegian king in attendance. Once again there is a better picture of this building, taken from the other side to mine, on Oslo Daily Photo.