Stamford

I had a fantastic day today.  The weather was sunny and warm and a friend took me to Wittering.  I found out a few days ago that during the war my father served at an RAF base called "Wittering", and my friend (who is an avid plane buff) offered to take me to see the base and a nearby town called Stamford.  The base is still operational so we could not see much but it was exciting non the less.  And Stamford while it seemed uninspiring on the internet, was exceptionally beautiful.  The drive took about two and a half hours through some breathtaking country side scenery.  I find England so incredibly gorgeous that I often think to myself "why did my father ever leave"?

A war memorial near Wittering, honouring the American and British soldiers of WWII.

Gates to the Base. Note to self - Do not let them see you taking their Picture.

Stamford is not without it's churches.  There must have been at least 8 various chapels in a six block radius.

This old house amazed me, the date on the front is 1692.

In the Garden of the George Hotel.  The sign said Henry the VIII stayed there and I think Richard the III.

One of the duelling hares in a used book store.

Looking up at the George Hotel on the right.

Looking down, hotel on the left.  What I liked in this shot was the monotone colours of the landscape and the various levels of buildings.

James, James bond.  Cars like this Aston Martin were abundant in this posh town.

St. John the Baptist church of Stamford.

Live vicariously my Canadian friends, keep warm.

Cleethorpes Camera Club

I wanted to show you a little something different.  I was at camera club this evening and we had a studio night.  These two images are glass paperweights.  I thought they were fun to take pictures of.  BTW, I came first place last week for my Niagara Falls picture. : )

Bottom view.

Side view.

A little sun, a little sand.

I spent the afternoon at the beach today.  And I don't mean like in NorthBay were it was minus 27 degrees and I was one of a few who thought it was gorgeous.  I went to Cleethorpes.  It is usually about a 10 minute bus ride from home but I guess everyone had the same idea today and the traffic caused the ride to be 40 minutes.  It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight and a pleasant 16 degrees above zero.  The dogs were having a great time running freely, the children were playing in the sand and water and I just soaked up the sunshine.
Before going to the beach I walked to church, through People's Park, and enjoyed all the sights and sounds of spring.  I never would have imagined that Grimsby could be so exceptionally beautiful.  It is like any other place though, sometimes you have to look for the beauty.

Crocus's all around Peoples Park.

Blossom trees everywhere.

Green Flowers?

Cleethorpes Pier

Giving the children rides on Donkeys, up the beach.

Low tide on the North Sea/Humber River.

Sitting on the retaining wall.

Strange looking shell.  I checked, nobody was home.

Hull, Hall and Mall

It's been a quiet week.  I have surprisingly enjoyed teaching in my year 11 IT class, who would have thought?  It turns out that my 20 years of working in Photoshop are paying off.  I have earned some serious street credit with these kids.
I am enjoying the opportunity to get out with the camera club each tuesday.  Last week we had an open night and there is such an array of talent and ideas.  This week I am entering a competition.  I am submitting my Niagara Falls pic you may have seen it earlier (July) in my blog.  The category is Celebration and it really is the only one I have here that fits.
During my break I went to Hull.  It is just north of here. There is not much to take pictures of nor much to write about.  It is a larger city and it is well known for it's shopping.  What was interesting was the various shops with parts of my name. I went to the Feren's Art Gallary and there was a sign that read Fearnly's jewellery shop.

The following picture is not mine.  It would have been awkward to ask the bus driver on the way to Hull "stop so I can get a picture of the Humber Bridge".  It was very large.

Humber Bridge, UK – 1,410m
The Humber Bridge is the fifth-largest single-span suspension bridge in the world. 

Hall of Justice

Inside a mall.  It seemed much more grand in person.