calvers

Winter sun

2011-12-04T11:53:00.000Z

The first sleet of this winter briefly appears in Aarhus. The winters sun tries to make it’s presence felt over the church spires.

hot air balloons over Aarhus

2011-09-25T17:13:00.000+01:00

Caught these hot air balloons floating over my apartment in Aarhus and on out to the sea.

Long weekend in Copenhagen

2011-09-04T20:27:00.000+01:00

Pic of the Nyhavn (New Harbour) in Copenhagen. Usually you see this harbour road from street level. It’s one of the ‘can’t be missed’ places. But here is one from the sea.

2011-07-03T00:02:00.002+01:00

So here we are. Stuck in a Danish office on a Saturday (Lørdag) with a tin of salmon, and no tin opener.
The resourceful ex-boy-scout finds a really heavy part on an old ATM an the knife that he did remember to bring. And bashed the knife through the tin. Dinner was had. Result.

The bike shed

2011-06-06T21:30:00.001+01:00

One of the many bike sheds around Aarhus. It’s always this full. And for those that don’t know Aarhus (Denmark), it’s built on a very large hill, so cycling here is certainly not popular due to the flat land. It’s the plentiful cycling infrastructure and dedicated bike lanes that are the reason. Most bike lanes are separate from the roads. And it’s not been an easy task to install them. They are virtually all retrofitted as the place was not originally designed with bike lanes. Actually the work is ongoing, they are still installing lanes where non currently exist. Proof that it can be done.

The bike shed is by Bruuns shopping centre.

Sculptures, probably.

2011-06-05T14:08:00.001+01:00

I cycled over to the Exhibition ground in Aarhus and found these, err Sculptures, they are calling them.

When did Shipping Containers stuck in the sand become art!

Interesting though I guess...

Emerald Princess

2011-05-22T13:33:00.005+01:00

Jesus! Look what I found in my back garden! This is bloody enormous!

I did wonder why there were so many Japanese/Chinese/Americans in Aarhus last night.

It’s the Emerald Princess.

Balcony view

2011-05-22T12:35:00.000+01:00

Just a random video shot from the balcony of my apartment.

Classic Race Aarhus

2011-05-16T19:19:00.005+01:00

Went to the Classic Race Aarhus on Sunday. They race all sorts of formula round a closed road circuit.

Difficult to get pics from behind the safety fence but here are a few snaps.

I know I’m meant to be a rabid cyclist, but I love watching cars race as sport. I just don’t see them as much use as day to day transport.

classic cars

2011-05-08T15:25:00.000+01:00

Next weekend the is a classic car race on some closed public roads in Aarhus. They are already showing some of the cars in the courtyard by the Cathedral.

www.craa.dk

What's this.

2011-04-23T12:40:00.000+01:00

So what’s going on here. They’ve put up a large greenhouse thingy on the church roof. A new observation platform for Ashtoners?

Probably not.

Aarhus, Scaering beach.

2011-04-17T13:45:00.000+01:00

Took myself off for a bike ride up the coast north from Aarhus today. Found this unexpected beach of white sand. It’s at a place called Scaering. Still to chilly for sunbathing though!

The city of Aarhus is way off in the distance on this photo.

Dog in Buggy!

2011-04-02T20:12:00.000+01:00

I always thought it was the English that were dog lovers, but here the Danes ferry their dogs around in child buggies! Now that’s just spoiling the dog I say!
:-)

Aarhus harbour

2011-03-31T18:46:00.000+01:00

So I randomly managed to get the lap-top and the mobile, Blue-toothing with each other again. Still don’t really know what I did to fix it. Anyway, I took a snap of the view from my apartment balcony showing the harbour in Aarhus. The white ship that can be seen is the ferry to Odden on Zealand, which is the island that Copenhagen is on. Occasionally Danish war ships moor here along with regular merchant vessels. All very nautical. Actually I know nothing of the sea and ports, but I seam to be learning stuff as I watch the ships come and go.

Angry Blue Teeth!

2011-03-26T09:48:00.002Z

My Blue tooth phone will no longer connect to my computer.

So after an hour of trying every option/setting on both the laptop and the phone, and setting them to discoverable etc. they both say the other does not exist. This means I have no way of uploading photos until I retrieve my camera from England. Don’t you just hate computers (and I work in I.T.!!)

The Bells!

2011-03-26T09:46:00.000Z

I have a problem with my new apartment. Here is a short clip of the level crossing out side the building I live in. This bell ringing goes on randomly from 4:30 in the morning till midnight! So, that’s me waking up at 4:30 every single day. Unhappy.

Every day scene.

2011-03-19T10:12:00.001Z

I don’t have a camera yet here in Aarhus, Denmark. Just my dodgy mobile phone camera, which will have to do for now. Also I don’t have a broadband connection, so I’m very limited on what I can post. I have a favourite cafe that does Wi-Fi so I get one hour to do everything I need to online. One hour is not enough! I’ll do a piece on the Danish cycling infrastructure when I’m more sorted out, but it’s far and away better than the UK. Bikes have right-of-way on roundabouts. Cars actually stop on the roundabout and let you trundle round to your desired turn off. Also bike lanes running along side a main road have right-of-way over traffic turning off/on the main road. A bike lane in the UK would have a row of dashes across it indicating that you should give way. Again, here cars actually stop and wait for you to pass by, before turning off the main road. Try that too often in Manchester and you’d get squashed.

Oh, hours up, must dash...

Danish art?

2011-03-19T10:10:00.000Z

Spotted this ‘sculpture’ on the way back from the pub one night.

It is almost artistic.

What!

2011-03-19T10:08:00.000Z

No idea what they’re selling here. Those crazy Danes!

Red Ways

2011-02-16T19:25:00.001Z

The Red Ways of Milton Keynes are a great help to the commuting cyclist. Red Ways are for use by pedestrians and cyclists. The tarmac is not really red, but defiantly a shade of pinky grey. There are also bridal ways for horses although not so many of these. The Red Ways typically run along side the road, but are almost always totally segregated. Wonderful. But they could have been better by simply labelling up the Red Ways with the name of the road it follows. As a newcomer to MK, I got totally lost on them. The problem is that they defiantly don’t always follow the road, and can disappear into a housing estate. Trying to find your way out and recover your direction is a matter of trial and error. That said, they are far better than anything in my home town area, Manchester. Imagine the Fallowfield Loop, but all over Manchester. The thorny question of how to get a push bike across a roundabout is totally solved by bridges for the use of pedestrians and cyclists. This type of infrastructure could not realistically be retrofitted to Manchester. But, all in all, a pretty good solution for Milton Keynes.

A Red Way cycle route with bridal way alongside.

Here is a Red Way / Bridal way crossing.

Wheelers Brunch

2011-01-30T13:47:00.003Z

So the first Wheels Brunch arranged by LC at naturallycyclingmanchester went well. About 20 people showed up for breakfast in Odder Bar, Oxford Road, Manchester.
Nice to meet some of the other Cycling Bloggers. We didn’t just chant about nerdy cycling things and cameras, oh no. We talker about ... OK, there was a lot of cycling chat to be honest.

Some of us struggled to find it. Me included. But is there any wonder. Can you find it in the shot below. Well I guess you can, but that sign is not jumping out at me along side all the other neon lights of Metropolis Manchester.

So here is the cycle rack, amply packed with ‘Wheelers Brunch’ bikes.

Cycle to work

2011-01-23T16:27:00.001Z

Been watching some of the cycle videos that have been posted on some of the cycle blogs. Don’t know why, but they fascinate me, way beyond their actual visual content would merit. So I thought I’d try doing one. Now I don’t have a cycling camera, but my trusty Kodak V705 does have a video option. I don’t use that much, but duct taped it to the front of my bike and cycled into work, and back again. It was taken today, a Sunday, so I didn’t actually go into the office, but it’s my regular journey.
Click: Cycle to work.
Click: Cycle to home.

Stuart Smith

2010-12-23T16:52:00.000Z

R.I.P. Stuart Smith - the greatest stockcar driver to ever grace the oval track.

Defeated.

2010-12-19T10:10:00.005Z

Even the mountain bike could not get through the snow.

The trip to the pub had to be abandoned.

Snow!

2010-12-18T14:41:00.001Z

View from my apartment, and yea, it's definatly snowing... Meant to be going for beers with a buddy who's leaving work tonight. Think he'll be drinking alown.

Manchester

2010-12-11T09:14:00.000Z

Christmas doesn’t start for me until I’ve had a glass of Gluhwein from the German Christmas market.

Camera work not the best as the first pic shows. It’s a random shot from out of The Mitre window showing the pub across the road, Sinclair’s Oyster Bar. Behind it is the Arndale Centre with M&S on the right.

Second pic shows punters selecting their Gluhwein (warm German mulled wine laced with sugar) actually very nice, but one mug of that is enough for me. A switch back to Euro fizz Lager is soon required.

Frosty!

2010-12-06T16:08:00.000Z

Jees, how cold was it outside my apartment this morning. Not sure what these berries are, but they are very brave to be still hanging around in this frost.

Caucus

2010-10-31T13:20:00.003Z

I parked my bike next to this caucus of a bike. Still firmly chained to the railing, but not much left of it.

When I leave my bike overnight, I use two locks. One a thick cable, the other a massively heavy motorbike chain. One through each wheel and both through the frame. The cable lock has been attacked but held. As far as I know an attempt on the motorbike chain has never been made. I don’t know of a way of getting through it, without oxy acetylene cutting gear!

Cable showing the cuts where Mr. Scrote attempted to cut through it.

Electra?

2010-10-18T17:09:00.004+01:00

Spotted this interesting old bike outside Kew Gardens. Going off memory, I think it was called an Electra, although it was not an electric bike. Don’t think I’ve seen one of these before.

the pavilion

2010-10-17T19:22:00.002+01:00

This is the pavilion that you always see on the TV when they are talking about Kew Gardens.

Here is a peek inside.

Looks fine, but I was expecting more. I think in Victorian days, it would have been amazing, but now-a-days your local B&Q will have a small version of most of these plants. So slightly less impressive to modern eyes.

Kew Gardens

2010-10-13T19:25:00.000+01:00

This brave little fella stood his ground while the amateur wildlife photographer sneaked up on him. He’d barely time to jump back in his ‘larder’ and then zig zag away with a nut.

Well, it could have been a nut. Dunno really.

Feed the birds

2010-10-12T18:13:00.004+01:00

Well here we are. A real life Mary Poppins style lady out in the park by Euston Road, feeding the birds. I suspect with inflation, those bags will be well over two pence now!

Boris’s Bikes

2010-10-10T19:45:00.001+01:00

Spotted a row of Boris Johnson’s Electric bikes. A long queue of them here on Endsleigh Gardens in London. Couldn’t resist a look at them and check out the prices. I’ve never ridden one of these and fancied a spin.

No chance. First you need to become a member, that lets you buy a key, you cannot just pick one up on the day and then there are various costs. I wont go into it all, but basically to hire a bike for nine hours (work and back) it would cost you £54. Late charges for returning outside their time slot, that’ll be another £150, and another £300 if you damage it. See here.

Across the whole of Britain (that I’ve seen) , the attempts to get people out of their cars and onto bikes, are laughably inadequate. We all know about the cycle lanes that simply ‘END’, where you would actually need a cycle lane, like at a roundabout, or the lanes that disappear when the road gets too thin to paint in a cycle lane. Also annoying are the cycle lanes that run for five metres, and of course the helpful ‘Cyclist Dismount’ where the engineers have failed to put in adequate infrastructure to accommodate a bike - or more usually, for no good reason at all.

Although I appreciate that they are making some attempt at making things bike friendly, why don’t they see that most of what they do is whole useless, they must know, they’re not stupid people. Just send them on a jolly to Denmark, Holland, Germany etc. to look what they do. All of these countries have very similar solutions and work well. Where needed, bikes get a lane stepped up from the road, similar to the area that pedestrians get. Bikes also get priority on roundabouts, so you can actually go round them without being killed.

Anyone for a weeks commuting to work on one of Boris’s Bikes. That’ll be £270, thank you very much - and don’t scratch it!

Colder

2010-09-27T18:15:00.004+01:00

Definitely getting a little wintery! But I’m snug in this duvet - I mean coat.

Ashton-under-Lyne

2010-09-26T14:48:00.000+01:00

What happened here! Looks like someone swiped this bit of street furniture with a stray car, it should be upright. There are a line of these plant holders down the centre of Wellington Road. Seen here.

Olympic logo

2010-09-16T20:02:00.001+01:00

Well, I’ve thought long and hard.
I’ve given it a chance, and I wanted to like it, but this Olympic logo is a joke.
It’s total rubbish. A five year old with crayon could have done better.
It’s simply an embarrassment that we are showing off to the world.
The committee that chose this should hang their heads in shame

MK bike

2010-09-14T17:25:00.001+01:00

For no good reason, here is a surprisingly scary pic of me in my apartment with my current bike.

A mountain bike, with fat tyres, as I'm sick of getting punctures.

Sunset

2010-09-07T19:11:00.000+01:00

Sunset over Grange Farm, MK.

BriSCA F1 Stockcar World Final

2010-09-05T15:35:00.002+01:00

Weekend away at Coventry for the Stock Car World final. Excellent racing, and my guy won, Andy Smith, so I was happy. Some pictures here are of current BriSCA F1 stock cars and some are of the Heritage (old) stock cars.

Modern Stock Cars, they are mostly powered by large American Chevy V8 engines these days. Awesome machines.

These are the Heritage Stock Cars, and they were powered by whatever was the biggest engine in the scrap yard that week!

Notice this one has six wheels! It was actually banned from stock car racing when it first appeared on track over three decades ago, but still runs out in the Heritage event. Actually it won it’s race.

Incase you think you might have seen one or two of these old cars recently, well you have. Some of them featured on the recent Audi advert.

Back to today’s cars. Here’s the rolling lap before they set off next time round. All further photos after this were a blurred mess and ended up on the cutting room floor!

Stonehenge - not really.

2010-08-26T16:40:00.000+01:00

MK does Stonehenge, not quite as impressive as the real thing is it.

Grand Union Canal

2010-08-23T18:39:00.004+01:00

The Grand Union Canal runs through Milton Keynes. I cycled over to it and along the tow path for a mile or two. In fact, the first time I ever came here was on a narrow boat on this very canal, many years ago now.

Strange Fruit indeed

2010-08-17T18:02:00.000+01:00

What the heck are these yellow thingys, dropping out of the trees?

The picture doesn’t show it, but there were plenty wasps sampling the goods. I didn’t linger...

Hiroshima - in Milton Keynes

2010-08-15T17:42:00.000+01:00

Not too much to blog in Milton Keynes really, but I was out on the bike today and found a little Japanese garden dedicated to Hiroshima. All the items here are made to look like items at Hiroshima after the nuclear bomb.

Not what you’d expect to find on gentle ride out.

cloud and moon

2010-07-20T17:51:00.000+01:00

I don’t do cloud pictures, but this one caught my eye.

bloke

2010-07-19T21:07:00.000+01:00

Some bloke meddling with his push bike by one of the MK lakes.

Inflatables

2010-07-18T20:44:00.000+01:00

Art in Milton Keynes.
Some say it has a double meaning. I can’t see it.

Stormy MK

2010-07-14T22:22:00.001+01:00

Wow, did it rain!

These two lads in this video were so wet, it wasn’t worth them hurrying.

Shots from my apartment window.

Freezer

2010-07-13T17:47:00.000+01:00

Yes, it’s just a picture of my freezer.

I left the door open slightly, all night and all the next day. So the walls and food get covered in fury ice, but despite the ice, the food is defrosted, a bit. I’ll close the door again. It’ll be fine.

The Plough

2010-07-11T17:19:00.002+01:00

The Plough in Stony Stratford. How I wanted to join in, not on this trip though.

Stony Stratford

2010-07-10T10:51:00.001+01:00

Cycled down the road to Stony Stratford. This is the view down the High Street
Felt like a million miles from the concrete carpet of Milton Keynes.
Stony Stratford is more like a village in Saddleworth. Very nice with it’s quaint pubs, shops and restaurants.
I’m off the beer at the moment, so couldn’t sample the ales in the local hostelries. Next time probably.

2010-07-09T18:33:00.000+01:00

Reminds me of a long day/night in 1977. I think I had more hair back then. Bit thinner possibly.

where?

2010-07-08T17:29:00.001+01:00

Where am I now.

Possible clue below.

:-)

horsing around

2010-07-07T20:53:00.000+01:00

The Police, horsing around in front of MK Central station.

Vandals!

2010-07-06T16:48:00.004+01:00

Look what they’ve done to this poor blokes bike.

Ripped off the handle bars, moved the peddles, stolen the bike seat, and attached comedy pram wheels to the back. Outrageous!

Concrete Cows

2010-07-05T18:44:00.001+01:00

Ah, here they are. Hiding in the MK shopping centre - the famous Milton Keynes Concrete Cows. I’d not seen these before even though I’ve been through the shopping centre a time or two. Observant as ever!

The placard says that the cows were once cynically said to symbolised that MK is all concrete and that it’s not true.

Rubbish, it is true. MK is the most concrete happy place I’ve ever seen! OK, second only to Skelmersdale. There are plenty of green bits, but they are practically all of a municipal park style. Virtually nothing natural or wild. It’s not awful, just boring and predictable. Still, I quite like these concrete cows, they’re funny, and I have to say, these are not predictable.

I don’t think anyone from MK has seen this blog, if they had, I’d have been told off by now.

Tour de France.

2010-07-04T17:42:00.000+01:00

Well, as some that click to this blog will have noticed, I follow stock car racing, also football, but I have to say, today’s opening race in the Tour de France was as good as many a stock car race I have seen. There were loads of spectacular cashes (I shouldn’t enjoy these, but I do), bikes, riders and street furniture bashed about all over the road. Entertainment indeed.

Oh, the stage winner was Alessandro Petacchi. Yes it was.

Screen shot from the tiny portable in my MK apartment.

another quiz

2010-07-03T16:40:00.000+01:00

So, where was this taken?

Piccadilly Station

2010-06-30T18:01:00.001+01:00

Piccadilly Station, Manchester.
Almost my second home at the moment.

Here is the 18:15, Manchester to Euston.

Sunset in Milton Keynes

2010-06-29T16:40:00.000+01:00

Taken from my apartment window.

sign

2010-06-28T17:51:00.001+01:00

This is the sign outside where I work.

What do you mean you can't see it!
It's perfectly obvious.
It says this:
~~National Freehold Land Society~~
~~Abbey Road & St. John's Wood Permanent Benefit Building Society~~
~~Abbey National Building Society~~
~~Abby National~~
~~Abby~~
Santander
:-)

A church

2010-06-24T22:07:00.001+01:00

An old church in Milton Keynes. So not everything was built in 1980.

Just in case you want more info, as I was told to, I took a snap of the sign too.

Quiz.

2010-06-23T19:03:00.002+01:00

OK, poor photo.
But that’s not the point. This is:

Where was it taken, and when?

The Ashton bikes

2010-06-22T19:26:00.003+01:00

Carrera Subway 8.
Only one still working, the other being cannibalise slowly, as Halfords are far too useless to fix them, even though they sold them to me.

Manchester

2010-06-21T19:34:00.001+01:00

Obligatory shot of the Beetham Tower. This one from the canal running though Castlefield.
Rochdale canal, is it?

Piccadilly Station

2010-06-20T14:33:00.000+01:00

Arrived in Manchester, Piccadilly Station, (with trusty Kodak 705 strapped to my side!).

Now, where’s the beer?

16:50 to Manchester

2010-06-20T13:45:00.002+01:00

On time (almost) the 16:50 train from MK Central back to Manchester for one of my buddies' stag doo, a fellow IT contractor.

Nut & Squirrel

2010-06-18T07:42:00.002+01:00

Good exercise!

Cycled all the way to this strange building, what ever it is.

road

2010-06-17T16:31:00.000+01:00

On the road again!

A sculpture

2010-06-16T19:47:00.002+01:00

What a laze blogger.

There was a placard below it, but I didn’t read it. Thought I’d get lots of better pictures. I didn’t. So, it’s just a sculpture.
My English teacher, Mrs P Schofield of Uppermill Secondary Modern, would have written, “Must do better”. And she’d be right.
Taken in the square infront of the station, again.

Ronald Rae

O. Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast

Handcarved Scottish granite

1984

Inspired by a poem by Robert Burns

‘O, wert thou in the cauld blast

On yonder lea, on yonder lea

My plaidie to the angry airt,

I’d shelter thee, I’d shelter thee,

Or did Misfortune’s bitter storms

Around thee blow around thee blaw,

Thy birld should be my bosom,

To share in a’ to share it a’

Purchased by the Commission for the New Towns

...

Well, I think that’s what it say’s.

Midsummer Boulevard

2010-06-15T17:52:00.000+01:00

So here we are. A view down Midsummer Boulevard, in the centre of Milton Keynes.

In this picture is a boring office, a Chinese Restaurant, a pub, and a hotel and another boring office.

But can you find them all?

Corporate Milton Keynes

2010-06-14T19:54:00.003+01:00

Well I was going to try and jazz the picture up a little. Perhaps loose the stray flag on the left, but my new Photoshop Elements has gone on strike. All the tools have just stopped working. All looks well, but nothing functions. Very frustrating.

Oh the picture is from the main square in front of the Central train station.

Milton Keynes Central train station

2010-06-13T15:41:00.001+01:00

As you come out from Milton Keynes Central train station, this would be one of your first views. And you can grab a coffee if needed. A great deal of Milton Keynes has this type of corporate look to it.

Milton Keynes

2010-06-12T19:47:00.001+01:00

Another enforced blogging layoff. My excuse, well I’ve moved to Milton Keynes, following a new contract.

It took ages to get the new broadband connected, also I was a bit lazy with sorting it all out.

I might struggle to get interesting pictures, as much of MK looks like any other bit. There are some exceptions, but it’s certainly not anywhere near as diverse as the Manchester area.

So first things first. These pics are of my new apartment in Milton Keynes.

New bank

2010-05-03T09:54:00.001+01:00

As the Abby National disappears, the Santander signs now replace the old logos and a new bank arrives in Ashton-under-Lyne.

This is on the junction of Old Street and Warrington Street.

New view

2010-05-02T09:51:00.000+01:00

Here is a view of St Michael's Parish Church that will not have been seen for many years, as the buildings along Stamford Street and Stamford Arcade have recently been demolished.
It looks like the ground is being prepared for something new. I wonder what.

concrete and clay

2010-04-30T14:44:00.000+01:00

So here is our answer: no grass, flowers or bushes. Just more meters of paving flags.

Didn’t Ashton win the North West In Bloom Competition a few times recently? Looks like this is a backward step.

Ashton-under-Lyne

2010-04-28T18:25:00.002+01:00

T’other side of the Ladysmith shopping centre on Katherine Street, where the new Costa coffee house can be found.

Paving

2010-04-27T00:08:00.004+01:00

Ah. I’m guessing that the ripped out bushes, are not going to be replaced by anything that grows.

Well, that’s my mind made up for the election. I’m going Green.

The Golden Mile

2010-04-26T10:32:00.000+01:00

Bikes parade along Blackpool’s Golden Mile.

Day Tripper

2010-04-25T10:28:00.003+01:00

Quiz. Where am I.

:-)

Saint Georges Day

2010-04-23T16:36:00.002+01:00

The flags are flying on Ashton market for St.Georges Day.

Bush-less

2010-04-22T16:43:00.000+01:00

So they’ve dug up our bushes all along Crickets Lane and round the Memorial Park. What are they going to do with it all now. Please not concrete.

In the background are the Wellington Court apartments, here can been seen the apartments when the bushes were still there.

Colourful

2010-04-21T09:23:00.000+01:00

The Pound shop on Penny Meadow. Yes, very colourful.

New Road

2010-04-20T00:18:00.000+01:00

They’ve made a start on the new road round the back of Penny Meadow.

These views are from the Albion Street bridge, I think.

Dairy Crest

2010-04-19T16:39:00.002+01:00

That’s right, simply avoid those pesky traffic wardens with their yellow lines by parking on the pavement.

:-)

Derby day

2010-04-17T10:44:00.004+01:00

Derby day today. City v Utd. Ashton Market covers both flags.

Colliers Arms

2010-04-16T09:07:00.001+01:00

I cycled up to Hartshead Pike and passed the old Colliers Arms pub. The conversion of the attached barn into a house is now complete. It’s looking mighty fine.

There are some details carved into the lintels above the doors.

On the x-pub it reads ‘The Old Colliers’ 1730 and on the x-barn it reads ‘Colliers Barn’ 2009

Also seen here is what they looked like in early 2009 when the barn was at the start of it’s conversion.

Iceland

2010-04-15T16:50:00.001+01:00

Well, actually a view of Manchester from above the Ashton-under-Lyne golf course. But up in the sky are bits of Iceland, apparently. Although I’m not sure I can see much of it.

All UK flights have been cancelled due to ash in the air from the erupting volcano, under a glassier in Iceland. Ashton is on the landing flight path for Manchester Airport, or Ringway as I still like to call it. From my apartment window I can usually see about one flight a minute, the planes seemingly hanging in the air as they slow down on the approach to the airport.

Non at the moment though.

New Chinky

2010-04-14T16:35:00.007+01:00

What have we here. Looks like a new chinky is about to open in Ashton. It's called the Jade Garden.
Ever since I have been here, this building has been semi-derelict. I think is was a Chinese restaurant some years back. Looks like it will be again soon.
The road is Old Cross Street, and at the bottom can be seen the Time Zone.

Computer

2010-04-12T13:09:00.000+01:00

Finally got my broadband connection sorted out, only took six weeks! Anyway, it’s nice to have all the web pages responding quickly again. I might even check the job pages and see if I can find a new contract.

Photo of my computer to celebrate.

Heroes of Waterloo

2010-04-08T12:43:00.000+01:00

The pub across the road from the Ladysmith Barracks has also closed.

Heroes of Waterloo.

Ladysmith Barracks

2010-04-07T09:52:00.000+01:00

I’m just old enough to remember when this barracks was still open. Or at least I remember that there wasn’t a housing estate behind the archway. There has been for many years now. Only this arch and gate remains from the original barracks built in 1845. It finally closed in 1960.

Ashton Market

2010-04-06T17:14:00.000+01:00

Bikes on Ashton Market.

I need a new bike, but not decided which type just yet.

Electric Car Depot

2010-04-03T10:19:00.001+01:00

Electric Cars or trams to us. This is the original depot for the Ashton trams on Mossley Road. Closed long ago of course. Now it’s split into many different shops. Cash registers to Tropical fish. Would be nice if we get a new depot like this one for our trams, if they ever get here!

Pre-Daffodils

2010-04-02T14:12:00.000+01:00

Well I’ve re-bought my copy of photoshop, so I can twist my photos this way and that, but even that cannot jump forward in time. Thought I’d take a snap of the daffodils in the park by Penny Meadow. I was a bit early as you can see. So, here are the daffodil buds in the park. The trees really are that bent. I didn’t twist them.

Pitt and Nelson

2010-03-26T11:57:00.000Z

The redevelopment of the former pub goes on. This was the Pitt and Nelson / Bedroom. It closed a couple of years back and was left boarded up. Part of it is already a shop (the Xmas shop!) and now it looks like the rest of it is converted to a shop and ready to be let.

I remember when Ashton was the place to be on a Sunday night. The pavements were difficult to navigate with all the people visiting the numerous pubs. Now it’s very different. No one goes to Ashton for the pubs. They are mostly frequented by a few hardy locals only. Around half have close their doors for good.

Disused Vicarage

2010-03-25T19:18:00.001Z

This is house in the grounds of St.Peters Church.

1 Stockport Road. It’s the disused vicarage.

There is a sign on it telling us that planning permission has been sought to extend it and turn it into offices. Well it’s better than leaving it derelict. Of course the style of the house never did fit in with the church. I’m surprised that planning permission was ever granted. Hopefully the people who are redeveloping it (St Peter Partnership) will do something to help it fit in with the old church. I wont hold my breath though.

Ashton-under-Lyne Stamford Park

2010-03-24T13:03:00.002Z

Well I did visit Stanford Park but could find no trace of the monument in yesterday’s blog.

I did find some cactus plants in the conservatory.

On my recent return to Ashton after working away, the plants in my apartment were looking very sad (slightly dead) so I think cacti will be the plant of choice when I next go to the garden centre.

Small Monument revealed

2010-03-23T18:53:00.001Z

While I was away, they cut all the bushes down around the Memorial Park. Hope they’re going to plant something else and not just concrete it over. Anyway with the bushes gone, a small monument has been revealed. So I strolled over to see what it was.

There is a plaque on it, a little hard to see now, but reads:

Replica of the Old Cross erected 1723 in St.Michaels Square the original of which is sited in Stanford Park.

Is it? Well I guess I’d better get over there take a look for myself.

Belle Vue Stock Cars

2010-03-22T09:12:00.000Z

The Formula 1 Stock Cars rolled into Manchester’s Belle Vue yesterday.

Here’s a peek into the pits after heat 1.