The end of the season (4)

The way the weather forecast looks at the moment, this is not going to be any time soon.

The end of the season (3)

One sure escape from the cold is into the maze of narrow streets that lead in from the beach and the quayside, the wind can't find you so easily here.

The end of the Season (2)

Playing on the beach at Looe today, with the wind howling and spray blowing in off the waves, presents something of a test of character and the wind resistant properties of your clothing.

The end of the season (1)

For most of the coastal towns and villages near Plymouth the main tourist season tails off this week, with the end of the school half term holiday. The charming fishing port of Looe, in Cornwall, (about 18 miles from Plymouth) is no exception, but even on a cold and blustery day it still attracts hardy visitors.

Surf Rescue

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the charity that saves lives at sea. They provide a 24 hour lifeboat search and rescue service around the coasts of the UK, as well as a seasonal lifeguard service on the busiest beaches in England and Wales.

The RNLI has lifeguards on more than 160 beaches around the UK, and last year they saved 107 lives and assisted 18,779 people.

 The qualifying examinations and practical tests are very demanding and last weekend the current crop of candidates were put through their paces at Newquay, in North Cornwall.

Here we see sucessful candidate Jess Henry, sprint out to the aid of someone in difficulty, and skillfully using the power of the surf, bring him safely back to shore.

The Dragonfly

This beautiful dragonfly was created by John West, a blacksmith who works for the Plymouth City Council.

After enjoying pride of place in a formal garden on Plymouth Hoe for a couple of years, it was relocated to this pond, in front of the City Council headquarters, right in the centre of the city, in 2009.

Red, White and Blue

A gas installation at Cattedown Wharf, on the bank of the River Plym.

The Red Army

 From the pedestrian walkway on the road bridge, you can see clearly how the Red Army is getting on with the preparation for the repainting.

 

Home is the sailor

Home is the sailor, home from the sea:

Her far borne canvas furled

The ship pours shining on the quay

The plunder of the world.

                                               A.E. Houseman

Late in the afternoon this beautiful craft passed under the Tamar Bridge on her way up river to her mooring.

Saturday in the park

Autumn is well advanced in Devonport Park,

which looks down onto the River Tamar and the Naval Dockyard.

The hardy few

By late afternoon any warmth in the autumn day is disappearing fast. Only a handful of customers linger over coffee at West Hoe.

However they were rewarded by a glowing, if chilly, end to the day.

Hi there!

Sandford and Down is Plymouth's oldest Diving Equipment shop, opened in 1964, it caters for the needs of divers from the novice to the fully qualified professional.

This cheery guy has been meeting and greeting customers  for the last few years.

It's not you, it's me ....

Pictures from an exhibition

Two of my favourites from the Yann Andre Tonnelier exhibition "La Dissonance de Praxis",  

which is in the city at the moment.



A Stairway in Devon

Looking up.

Looking Down.

The Union Inn, Saltash

 Almost tucked under Brunel's bridge, on the Cornish side of the Tamar, the Union Inn on Saltash's historic Waterside, was at one time the home of a famous Cornish hero, Leading Seaman William Odgers VC.

Now largely forgotten in his native land, he is well remembered in New Zealand where, in true Hornblower tradition, he won the VC for leading a cutlass charge to seize the flag of an opposing force during the Maori Wars in 1860.

 When he retired from the Navy he became licensee of the Union Inn.

This mural showing the turbulent history of Saltash is by David Whittley, a local artist.

Hard Labour

Isambard Kingdom Brunel keeps a watchful eye on the little orange army that is chipping away at his bridge. 

As winter approaches it is going to be very cold up there when the wind howls down the river valley.

Simply Red

But he looks a little blue.

Different Drummer

 

     If a man does not keep pace with his companions,

perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.

Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

Henry David Thoreau

In the top 350.

It has just been announced that Plymouth University is now placed at 301st position in the top 350 universities in the WORLD!

The crane is working on the newest addition to the city centre campus, which looks as though it will ready shortly.

Get out of that!

This really was a time for those good old-fashioned chrome bumpers.

I couldn't wait long enough to see who moved first.

Bread and water.

Lunchtime at

Drake's Circus

The path less trodden ............

 ............ for a very good reason. This roundabout is not always as quiet as this. There is a frequent bus service, a fair amount of local traffic and an increasing numberof visitors making their way to the restaurants and galleries in the Royal William Yard. I hope he takes care.

A tiny splash of colour.

Balconies

With the increase in the number of apartment blocks built in and around the city centre and the waterfront in the last few years, has come a dramatic increase in the number of balconies. But as I move around the city I seldom see anybody sitting out on their balcony. It seems strange that while you can hardly weave your way through the tables and chairs on the pavements outside every bar, coffee shop and restaurant we have yet to acquire a taste for balcony life. 

 
















All these pictures were taken during our recent October record-breaking heatwave.

The Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash

After much wrangling over what colour it should be painted, the £10 million refurbishment of Brunel's  Royal Albert Bridge, which connects the world to Cornwall, is under way. It will be the same light grey that it has been since 1911, rather than the original off-white of its opening 152 years ago.

Dressing for the weather.

On what turned out to be the hottest October day ever in the city, I came across these two people, within a minute of each other, in the city centre.