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   Buy Direct Sounds of Soldiers pdf Tiger pdf Slashed pdf |
 Didsbury Volvo, originally uploaded by spinneyhead. I’m walking to Disbury again, to pick up another bike, and I just passed this trailered Volvo 1800S. It’s not far from where I saw the Chevy yesterday. Maybe if I keep coming this way I’ll see a different classic every day. Link to this post!  Many more pictures here. In keeping with the show I cycled down to Didsbury park on an old Puch 3 speed ladies bike, to shake it down and see what needed fixing before selling it. There were a couple of bikes used as props to go with vehicles, so my little red sit-up-and-beg wasn’t out of place. I’m not interested in recent Porsches or Ferraris, so there are no photos of the ones that turned up, though I did take pictures of the Speedster and seventies 911. TONKA, a battered Toyota pickup which was only a few spikes away from a roll in the next Mad Max, appealed to the country boy in me. My favourite cars of the show, however, were two very different Morris Minors. One was an ex GPO van which was only recently rescued from use as a hen shed whilst the other was a shiney red soft top with a Fiat twin-cam engine fitted. Wierdly, I have no pictures of the exterior of the latter, only a lot of studies of the engine bay and interior. We would have stayed longer, but yet another of the heavy showers that are becoming this Summer’s motif hit. After half an hour under a tree, out of the worst of the weather, we accepted the coming soaking and headed home. If we’d hung around only a little longer I could have got some nice shots of the cars glistening with rain drops as the skies cleared up again, albeit briefly. Link to this post!  Didsbury Chevy, originally uploaded by spinneyhead. I spotted this old Chevrolet whilst walking to Didsbury to collect a bike. Link to this post!  I’ve had a slightly frustrating day, with a morning spent learning the limitations of my chosen video editing hardware and software and an afternoon spent learning the limitations of the footage I shot on Wednesday. But never mind, it’s snowed! I looked out of the window at about ten o’clock and found everything had gone white. I just had to grab the camera and a tripod and head out. The photo above was a fifteen second exposure in Cavendish Road Park. The other long exposures were four seconds each. The flash photos were taken using the camera’s “slow synchro” flash setting, which uses a longer exposure to bring up the background. Adjusting the white balance with Photoshop has brought out a lot of detail.       Link to this post!  Live music in Silver Apples, originally uploaded by spinneyhead. We are being serenaded with contemporary Brazilian rhythms. Link to this post! As the next Irwin tale is tentatively titled A Death in Didsbury, I shall be spending some time over the next few weeks down here trying to soak up local flavour. I’m currently in The Art Of Tea on Barlow Moor Road, making the most of their free WiFi and casting about for inspiration. I remember when this was a bookshop with a mod inspired sign, which started selling drinks as an extra earner. Now it’s flipped. The bookshop still exists in the rear of the building, along with the picture framers, but the last time I was here the lights were off in the back room so I didn’t venture in. Maybe when I’ve finished my green tea I’ll go for a browse. Link to this post!  A very short wander, because I only went to get pictures of one building. Calderbank Chambers is one of those places I must have passed hundreds of times over the years, but it’s well worth stopping for a closer look, if only for the ornate main entrance. Someone started with the cherubs and the leaves and just couldn’t stop. And then there’s the turret/spire butting out from one corner, perfect for looking down on the oiks as they walk past on the way to the Jobcentre.    Link to this post!  I found this on the way back from the dentist on Monday, after heading off down one of those alleys you keep going past and wondering where it heads. It’s around the back of some houses, next to garages which can’t possibly be for cars because the only access is via alleys far too narrow for most vehicles.  There used to be a sign beside the gate which would no doubt have enlightened me as to who ran the little green oasis, but it’s been pulled down, so it remains a mystery. Maybe I should go back some evening when people may be around and enquire.    Link to this post!  This wander wasn’t as thorough as it could have been- rain stopped play. So just some stuff on or near Wilmslow Road through Didsbury village. I’ll be getting on my bike and doing more wide ranging wanders later in the year.  This horse themed letter box looks like it’s been sealed up.  “B Oldfield [something] agent & dealer”  I don’t normally include new buildings in my wanders, but I liked the spike which runs down from the peak of the roof through the balconies.  I did a bit of post processing and masking with this one to bring out the colours of the stained glass.  Number 2 Passage.   This is above one of the windows of the Didsbury Police station. I had to stand on the wall in front of their notice board to get a better angle. I shouldn’t tempt fate, but it seems that even then I wasn’t suspicious enough looking to be stopped by cops for photographing.  There were another two of these decorative thingies (I’m going to have to start learning the proper architectural names for stuff) on this house. They looked like they’d both been restored, but they were obscured by scaffolding so I couldn’t get pictures.  I noticed a few of these decorative roof toppers- again, I’ll have to learn the proper name- on houses along Barlow Moor Road. The full set is on Flickr. Some of the images can be bought as prints from my Qoop store’s Manchester section. Link to this post! I went for another architecture wander this morning, but as well as the buildings I also found a few Morris Minors. No other classic cars today, just three rather nice examples of Sir Alec Issigonis’ second greatest design.  
I’d love to have a Minor, though I’d want to make a few minor tweaks- disc brakes, improved suspension and a newer engine. Nothing too silly, I reckon it should be easy to find something that’s both more powerful and more economical than the old block that would come with a vintage Moggy. It’s not like I’d try to emulate Nic Mann’s creation, which was the fastest street legal car in the country for a few years- And how could I possibly pass up a chance to play this- I’ve been driving in my car, it’s not quite a jaguar It’s a bit old but it’s mine, I mend it in my spare time I’ve been driving in my car, it don’t look much but I’ve been far I like driving in my car, it don’t look much but I’ve been far MAdness- Driving in my Car (Available, along with a load of others, on Total Madness Link to this post! I went in a different direction for this architecture trawl. Before I get to any buildings, here’s what the old railway line looks like now they’ve taken away a load of trees-  I’ve been meaning to get pictures of this building for a while. It’s the Local Board Offices. Board of what, I’m not sure, but it is nice. 
A little further down the road is the Mercantile Bank of Lancashire, now a solicitor’s offices.   On to Burton Road. The bike atop G.T. Blagg’s is cool. And there are what appear to be cane structures for training plants on the roof behind it. I wonder what they grow up there?  I’m not sure how much of the decoration on the Metropolitan is original and how much has been added for atmosphere. It looks nice though.   The Jamieson sign is still there. And, despite the gentrification of Burton Road, Hibbert’s continues its slow decay.   Back up Burton Road to the last of my targets for the day. I forgot to take the proper name of this school. It is an impressive building nonetheless. 
Prints of these and other images are available from my shop at Qoop.com. Link to this post! I keep getting distracted from the main aim of the day (making a start on the first page of Point of Contact, since you ask). But at least it’s by good content. When I popped out for a quick food shop I ummed and ahhed about which direction to go. I’m glad I headed for Burton Road.  I’d seen the Save Our Trees signs, but hadn’t realised how urgent they were. I’m a big kid, and I’m so glad I got to see these grown up Tonka toys in action.  First through, but the last I got a picture of, is the one which does the actual cutting. They were on a break when I got this picture, but as they didn’t call the Police when I asked if I could take pictures it would be ungrateful to complain.  I may have missed the machine which strips the smaller branches off the trunks and cuts the big sections into more manageable lengths. This John Deere beasty comes through after that work’s been done, picks up the thinner branches and bundles them into convenient lengths.  Then this folows and picks up the big trunks.  I couldn’t get down to platform level. This is it from up the embankment after cutting but before clearing.  This is a platform level shot of roughly the same spot which I took last year. And here’s a post from a few years ago about a wander along some of the line they’re clearing out. The cover of Global Weirding used a photo I took at one end of the old station platform. I have some other pictures, but they’ll take a bit of digging out.   Entirely unrelated, but I saw this in the car park of the Four in Hand. I haven’t got a clue what it is, but I know enough war geeks that I might be able to get an answer. The yellow panel on the side is a warning about high voltage radio equipment. Link to this post! Who knows, in a couple of years trams could be running through here. For now though, nature has it and the track bed is a long, thin pond. Link to this post! A mini festival celebrating West Didsbury’s independent shops and bars. Link to this post!  BOT024 Originally uploaded by spinneyhead. Link to this post! |
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