grab a granny

when I came out of my flat deep cleaning was in progress on the seventh floor of Merton House

my flat is to the right




the seventh floor rubbish chute has been blocked for about a week












I had to take my rubbish down to the bins on the ground floor









the Merton House back garden is primarily a dogs' toilet










an old soldier?
If it moves salute it and if it is still whitewash it

a pasion for gardening

waiting for cherry blossom time


one field name survives
Nine Acres







I think the birds are starlings back from Africa











what did this person eat for lunch?the sweet shop owner said it was not a child but a junky


At Fordbridge Parish Council

this meeting was about housing


by mistake I went into a room full of sequence dancing pensioners
and was invited to join in and GRAB A GRANNY !


all done at THE FORDBRIDGE CENTRE


draining the wet back lawn of the centre

the english man needs to have a garden shed

two or three drakes for every duck












and what ate this pigeon?










three ducks on the bank
after Bosworth Drive Bridge
splashed away when I got too close



two supermarket trollies may form a new island if many seeds get root











the brook has a pebbly bottom
and makes a musical burble


these pebbles date from the ice age melt waters




and the reeds are beginning to grow again




Then I started to explore Alcott Wood google map

the birch are not so typical

the oak and the holly were often seen together in older midlands forests

there is the noise of the gas pipeline control unit
(see google map)
and a faint smell of (russian?) natural gas






street furniture
a bench made from railway sleepers

I am not certain if the bushes are a garden escape





wrong time of day

there are grey squirrels and foxes to be seen

the angled boughs of the oak trees were useful to ship builders








in Nelson's day this oak bough would be used for ship's knees

today a tempting seat







old style graffiti








and leaving the wood

and I caught a bus


with tv on it.








nice new test card












self portrait on closed circuit tv on the bus



a Silver Link Express to London

an impression of speed but I missed the front or back of the train









concrete sleepers, vignoles section rail and fish plates with 6 bolts (used to be 4) but this is welded track - so the end of a train control section at Marston Green Station




I need more practice
180 kph or 100 mph Virgin Train London to Birmingham

relearning the skills for photographing fast moving objects



what to see in Sheldon Country Park
google map I look forward to seeing a king fisher (last time 60 years ago in Malvern)


on the airport perimeter at sunset

gorse in bloom already









and airport security were checking the perimeter fence



where the brook re-emerges from under BHX Birmingham Airport

and the drain water for the runway









nice clean water here









oops too far away - or as my old art master Mr. Leadbetter used to say at Clifton College,
"fill the whole picture space"

waiting to advance onto the active runway and take off

oops a bit too close I wanted a more colourful background

oops clicked too soon
future subjects planes landing - an impression of speed

and then I walked on to Garretts Green
got a 72 bus

but when I got to Tile Cross
I was very very very hungry

fish and chips eaten out of the paper with my fingers
andwalked Bell Lane aka Bell Walk


and when I got home to Merton House it was nice and shiny
and smelled like a hospital

way to Packington

M6 motor way looking north
this is the edge of the Packington Hall Estate
packington hall - Google Image Search
Now the home of the Earl of Aylesford, Packington Hall stands in a park of approximately 300 acres, with a deer park, fisheries and the Forest of Arden Golf Course.

The grounds were laid out by Capability Brown and his plans of 1751 are kept in the house. The Hall, built in 1693, is in the Italian Renaissance style, with interior design by Joseph Bonomi.

the red lights on this pylon are a familiar sight in the extreme distance

History and Heritage - Packington Hall

and the limit of what I can see from my balcony windows

andf a landfill site

SITA (Packington) Ltd. http://www.sita.co.uk/

Packington House

Packington Lane

Packington (Road Map)

Meriden google map but I took a bus out

and from Birmingham Business Park back

Coventry CV7 7HN

crashed santa

I dropped the Chinese New Year in favour of this Annual General Meeting at Balliol House.

Chairman Malcolm Ross and Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinater Brian Reilly

Fordbridge Area Residents Association & Neighbourhood Watch,

1a Balliol House, Grandys Croft, Fordbridge, Birmingham B37 5BS

0121 628 9034

rubbish out the window

rubbish in the grounds of a school

the flag shows a strong easterly wind

and behind Merton House with fourth window down on the left is my kitchen

sunset behind me

at Cooks Lane roundabout I could not resist a cone of chips for 70p

the light was fading but I found a path into the Project Kingfisher

put "project kingfisher" into http://maps.google.com/maps and browse

Map of United Kingdom Multimap.com

and then I walked from Foxglove Crescent down to the river bank and turned right along the bank of the River Cole

Aerial Photo Multimap.com
and ended up a bit lost at this big Chester Road A452 Roundabout
and turned south along the river where I saw the swans

Aerial Photo Multimap.com shows most of the circuit

http://maps.google.com/maps
has a much better resolution
if you enter b37 6xx you can find the footpaths I took from Foxglove Crescent
or B37 5BX and drag north to Cooks Lane Roundabout


documentation of a repair needed

Kents moat

got off the bus here just over the Solihull border to check out the Birmingham Branch Library
Poolway precinct from 1962 with a Midlands Co-op.com


Kents Moat Library





maisonettes above the shops

and something for the future archeologists - there used to be two ten floor appartment blocks on those two flat areas

down the hil loking back

there should be a brook but it has been piped in

Kents Moat then

Kents Moat Library

55-57 Pool Way Birmingham B33 8NF

Libraries main menu
Ancestry library edition is now available FREE on computers in Birmingham Libraries.

Viewpoint Server

Solihull Website - Parish-Town councils and councillors

Solihull Website - Parish-Town councils and councillors

busy couple of days

Thursday and I have made the bed up as a lounging place

so I can clear the shelves

I ate a lete breakfast on the balcony and seeing a pair of swans drop down behind Oriel House on the extreme left, I felt like going to see where they had landed in the Chelmsley Wood parks

this is further down the brook near the airport in the previous blog

and there they were along with the ducks and some agressively hungry geese


catkins mean spring to me

and as I continued to walk towards Coleshill along the green lane where I picked sloes in the autumn

at last the farmer's bridge over the new motorway

I sat down and enjoyed the sunset



about 3 or 4 hours later

And on Friday, today, breakfast on the balcony again

the maps for orienteering and naming things
a yellow dawn
and into Birmingham to market and check out how china town was getting ready

the fountain was being covered up


nearly a thousand lanterns have been hung up

In the Bull Ring Sharwoods were demonstrating their new instant noodle packs NOODLE BOX
and so I ate three as a free lunch

and the demo will be in Soho Square London on Sunday

I heard the singing but missed Paul Courtenay Hyu the "chinese Elvis"
but I caught up with him on TV News later


from the poster Happy New Year of the Dog (artist age 11)
from http://www.thearcadian.co.uk/

indoors today

I have to remove these two shelves and reinvent that corner to make room for some of the other stuff I am moving out of the guest room

I own a lot of broad warehouse shelves but not enough book shelves. So I am going to have do do some building









the photo below is technically difficult - this is my third attempt
but it shows how I have let the light in by the rocade of boxes and books

I had an email from an old comrade George Pollen so I put an older band photo on the web

for him to add to a dvd of our old band

In the red uniform with furry hats (we wore blues in my time) violinist, arranger and composer here doubling on bass drum in 1976




Collection of MIDI arrangements of classical music Mr. George Pollen.

What counts as ‘moderate’ exercise?

I had a quiet walk to the library today

Solihull Website - News:
"Moderate exercise can be anything from walking the dog to heavy gardening, so why not have a go at some of these:
30 minutes of dancing
30 - 45 minutes of gardening
45 minutes - 1 hour washing the car
45 minutes - 1 hour washing the windows or the floor
20 - 45 minutes of swimming, football or volleyball
Walking 1½ miles
Cycling 5 miles"

moving boxes

yes today my exercise has been moving boxes again and I am slowly getting ready for my guest


and now there is a clear path to the LIDLSCOPE
and the window

but then I got distracted :-

because I found a box of letters of condolence to my mother from October 1942
David was her nickname for my father Ordinary Seaman A H Watkins
who went down with HMS Somali 24/09/1942

this letter was from Mrs Joyce Loft whom I remember lodging at 220 Widney Lane with the Wilkes, when her husband was flying out of RAF Gaydon or the training unit, at Wellsbourne Mountford

No 22 OTU flying training with Wellington bombers
I was taken to see one which had crashed in an orchard at Wellsbourne

they were canadians and he died in 1944
Their little boy Christopher Loft later drowned, but is immortal in my memory as he coined the phrase "HORRID LITTLE CABBAGES" to describe brussel sprouts

Name:	LOFT, LESLIE GEORGE
Initials:	L G
Nationality:	United Kingdom
Rank:	Flight Lieutenant
Regiment:	Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Unit Text:	415 (R.C.A.F.) Sqdn.
Age:	36
Date of Death:	09/04/1944
Service No:	104798
Additional information:	Son of Paymr. Lieut.-Comdr. B. G. Loft, R.N., and Lillian May Loft; husband of Joyce Margaret Loft, of Guildford, Surrey.
Casualty Type:	Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:	Plot 1. Row B. Grave 10.
Cemetery:	WEST THORNEY (ST. NICHOLAS) CHURCHYARD

this picture brought happier memories

of my grandfather who died one year before I was born
Alfred Henry Watkins b: 13 AUG 1862 in Llanvair Kilgeddin,


My beloved granny Blanche Eveline Watkins - nee Jones , kept it on her dressing table at the Haven, Monmouth Road, Usk






the back of the picture was blank so I pencilled his name and dates on it











Dec 21 1900
is a new date to me and is possibly of their engagement
because they were married in the June quarter of 1901

this was my photo set up using the Sony Handycam

greys or grays

from the balcony yesterday evening


this misty morning










I rushed for the handycam because this it what I see, especially through my field glasses


as the mist lifted the spotlight was on our local cop shop - Chelmsley Wood Police Station

AKA Solihull North police station

West Midlands Police Brass Band & Corps of Drums

The band rehearses each Wednesday evening from 07:30pm prompt at Solihull North Police Station, Chelmsley Wood, until about 09:30pm.

and now the sun's rays falls on the Chelmsley Wood market hall



pigeons


a similar flat to this





my first attempt at photographing a daguerotype
(patented in 1839 by 1860 going out of date)



So is this John Jones of 5 Castle Street Raglan, Monmouth, Wales ?
He was born in 1816 and chemist, grocer and Brick & Tile Manufacturer
The picture was from his grand daughter's attic in 1953

To protect Daguerreotypes, keep them away from direct sunlight (but it is OK to display them occasionally) and, most importantly, away from extremes of temperature.
A drawer in a "living" space is fine, not the attic or a damp basement. To protect the cases you might want to bundle them in clean cloth (old t-shirt material is fine) but use no rubber bands. We feel it's generally best to store them glass side down or on edge.

The Daguerreian Society

australian desktop

shock horror Press release details | KONICA MINOLTA

Sony-Konica-Minolta ? Jointly developed cameras expected to hit the market in about a year.


it was a sunrise

I would be happy to hear from anyone else sharing my stuff

this is the reason I do not shrink my snaps but post them unretouched whenever possible as raw material to be shared (not for profit only)

mirrored sunset for Anthony

an email from my cousin in Melbourne, Australia:-
*Enjoying your blogspot good to see the larger images !!
I especially like the sunsets / dawn shots
keep up the good work :-) *
I finished tidying and sweeping the enclosed balcony and it is time for coffee and an apple


This glossy green painted garden seat was from Woodbank, Usk, then from about 1936, The Haven, Monmouth Road, Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales.
And in 1953 I took it to 230, Widney Lane, Solihull
where my mother let it rot, and then got the retired fire officer, who did her garden, to replace the elegant half circle edged planks with these chunky ones.

These seats were also used on early victorian tram cars, but it has not got holes in its feet for it to be screwed down.


I am standing and looking south east

this was an accidental collage



the bling of sunlight shining off the next appartment block





the sunset is behind me

I am planning what to grow here
- tomatoes, some kind of vine, herbs, lettuce - ideas anyone ?












I want to clothe this wall - it could even be an ivy







I forgot to change from my computer glasses
and went and got my spare pair of distance glasses which I will keep here

With my LIDL binoculars I watched a flock of pigeons circling






you see the climbing plant can only use half the end wall if the window is to open

balance

yesterday at Boots I weighed in at 162.8 kg with clothes and shoes

today before my bath 160.9 kg without

355 lbs or 26 stone 5lbs

this is the first time I could use these LIDL bought scales




The remote dial can calculate fat and water content of your body
after you enter height age and body type

overkill I think
it works by sending electricity from foot to foot via the metal contacts
all it says to me is Err Error




so next I waterproofed my walkng boots

zoom from kitchen

ivy
let the ivy die back nturally to clear without damage to the bricks
windy today Standard of George - the English flag
geometry 1
very distant hills
geometry 2
geometry 3
play ground
school yard
school starts soon
and in they go

storm retreating before dawn

original bigger

corrected in IrfanView bigger




original bigger


corrected in IrfanView bigger

to the shops

taking out the trash

my LIDL butler set

earth from Widney Lane







by Robert Rauschenberg ?




but this junk has been here for weeks


and what about some grass seed ?






collecting my medicine in the new chemists shop
Alliance Pharmacy
Chelmsley Wood, Primary Care Centre, Crabtree Drive, Chelmsley Wood, B37 5BU










the useful scaffolding clamp
must have been here for months







this path still needs sweeping










road works in Bosworth Drive but the bus stop is still broken










a free METRO daily newspaper










busy at LIDL with the thursday specials





this driver refused to take me with my shopping trolley

market and china town

textile art student from UCE Birmingham, UK
which has one of the largest faculties of art, design and media education
in the United Kingdom BIAD

where I get off the 97 bus by the markets behind the parish church
will these victorian buildings survive?

or became part of China town



chinese graphics
and afro-hair stylists









very good chaep food














fountain







carpark entrance

with stones to stop parking on the pavement







vernacular stool knocked up by a carpenter
and in the dumpster / container / skip
with a lot of wood which could be recucled











lunch or a reception?

















"restored" sweet shop with back to front till and an anachronistic cash register

National Trust | Birmingham Back to Backs
Carefully restored 19th-century courtyard of working people's houses.

the only back to backs left




50-54 Inge Street/55-63 Hurst Street
Birmingham
B5 4TE
West Midlands
England


oak imitated with painted wood grain






the bars are an anachronism too









been a kitchen fire














and thanks to this Mr Singh

I got my Radio Times for next week











concrete bridge from the sixties






the invasion of the green man





street furniture getting tired









the new Birmingham and the 39 story Radisson SAS Hotel, Birmingham


looking down on the markets











down the ramp to Moor Street
new building to the left









new built and in trouble

water seepage from the ramp and rust in the joints









the new wine bar at Moor Street station






the markets are to the left




















this bus 97 stop has been repaired with shiny new seats


the Bosworth Drive roadworks are nearly done






and even the low clouds of a grey sky are beautiful





what I got for about £9


and a very late vegetarian lunch
with ice coffee

monitor work out

first I took the 17 inch monitor away

and you can see the five year old IKEA KISTER computer table


yesterday I had moved about 30 boxes to get the OPTIQUEST V115 monitor out to here



this box bottom left has the 21 inch monitor in it
and weighs about 32 kg

after moving it out and up,

not lifting but rolling it onto the top of the little black bookcase

next I had to take a break with Roth's latest novel, "The Plot Against America,"




















then down on to a tea trolley and shunting backwards into the kitchen








to get past the door to the hall and open it

what railway train enthusiasts call shunting into a spur



then I walked backwards into the hall half lifting the box and all to spare the legs of the trolley




into my bedromm doorway

at this point I sat on my bed for a rest
for 5 to 10 minutes
until my heart rate slowed down, and I stopped panting

after placing the box on the bed

I took the box off the monitor - not lifting the monitor out of the box











nearly there, on top of the empty monitor box which I used to bridge the gap








all plugged in and starting up WinXP

rumage gold

Who are these huntsmen?
Boxing Day near Usk?
That negative was loose amongst the junk when I found the family photographs - my first effort at scanning from a battered and under exposed negative - and I found my own negatives from a 1959 cornish holiday of Margaret Jones age 17

I also found a photograph of an unusual Great Western Railway signal

which I posted in my Memories blog where more old photgraphs will be turning up.

weight training

I am expecting a guest to sleep here
next month - the chaos started on moving in day when some cases got dumped here and I was too weak to move them, and then more stuff got put here.

The cloth covers my LIDLSCOPE but the seeing has been consistently bad

when my mother died all her (and my) junk was boxed up for later sorting and brought here.



my exercise today has been moving boxes until I could get to the balcony door and uncover this boxed 21" monitor


I discovered all sorts of new treasures - 50 year old letter from her own mother and a copy of Record Review from June 1960 with the second article I sold as a free lance writer.

I moved more than half the boxes today, just like a body builder having a good upper body work out.





so soon I will again be able to eat breakfast on this double glazed balcony


On the way out I snapped one of my mothers old hats, and the bookcase built by my father in 1937 .
the books and magazines are of the same age and up to the 1950ies.

Now I was very dusty and tired and a hot bath was next

moonlight

looking northeast towards Chelmsley Wood and Coleshill a couple of days ago with the handicam

I have got some really good phone camera snaps too, but with so much genealogy going on, that I have not had time to post them, and I have about 100 web pages in the pipeline with a thousand more pages on the stocks

next I have to rearrange some furniture ready for my daughter's visit in the first week of February

handycam DCR-PC100E

CLICK I woke up early and hung out of my kitchen window looking west trying to see the Birmingham BT Tower
13/01/2006 / 04:02:06
Birmingham BT Tower
zoomed in x 40


click any image to see the bigger picture at 1152 x 864 Pixels and 16,7 Millions (24 BitsPerPixel)

Birmingham BT Tower with tweaked gamma
Lichfield tv mast
what is this green stripe on?
Sutton Coldfield TV mast





my old walking boots
will be needed to deal with that muddy path in Elmdon Nature Park. From the Scout Shop in Copenhagen Denmark they have been in Sweden Norway Faeroes Orkney Scotland England Belgium Luxemberg Germany - ok hitch hiking - but you expect to walk up to 10 miles a day between lifts . . . and that was one summer journey

on my favourite chair from my USK granny's kitchen
well turned legs

probably made in Monmouthshire, Wales





steamed and bent back

this is a time machine bringing back many many happy memories






well carved and comfortable seat



Sony digital handycam
Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonar 1,8 4,2/42
40 x digital zoom
Super SteadyShot
precision LCD monitor

Dual Media mini DV and memory stick (about 104 images)
1,070,000 pixels MEGA pixel CD
Super Steady Shot
Info Lithium about 4 hours
PrecisionLCD Monitor
Digital Video Camera Recorder #117664
7.2v 3-057-539-01

when I download the day's crop of images using Jessops USB2 Universal Card Reader (vastly better than the original Sony) I see this path
J:\DCIM\100MSDCF
and the folder name 100MSDCF is the same on the Sony Phone Cams

Hiking in NJ and NY State

Dan's & Laura's Web Photo Album

a brilliant day

yes this bus stop has not yet been repaired

after weighing myself at BOOTS
(I have lost 3 kg in 7 days)

I walked across this bridge for the first time to explore

then downhill towards Merton House

(third from left of the three distant blocks)

I turned left


looking back at Bosworth Drive bridge
Chelmsley Wood

and I walked along the path by this stream




click to see the grey dot on the path
I intruded on two grey squirrels and this is their privacy distance.-
This wood was first recorded in 1082 and pigs were feeding here within living memory - a wood without pigs is like a ballroom without women.

ENGLISH NATURE - Special Sites: "Alcott Wood Local Nature Reserve is one of only a few ancient woodland sites in Solihull. It is a natural example of oak woodland with ground flora containing several species of ancient woodland indicator species including Wood Anemone, Remote Sedge, Wood Sorrel with very few non-native trees and scrubs (i.e. no Sycamore).

There are three schools within 1 km of the site. The variety of habitats and ease of movement through the wood would allow for a range of activities."



click to see my home - Merton house is the third tower from the left

Solihull College
North Campus

there are several of these bridges not shown on my maps intended for car drivers





the clean and healthy stream below



in England we are metal bashers

for eample this climbing frame and slide,
today welded and no longer cast ion



Solihull park bench all welded
strong but cold

I have not needed to sit down so often and I forget to blog the street furniture

electric-henge

and then there was mud







under the main line railway first London and Birmingham Railway opened in 1838, then LNWR, in 1846 LMS from 1923 , and BR (M) in 1948

under the arch
childproof?













mud wallow made by repeated security checks of Elmdon Nature Park in a 4 x 4


I need to sit down but don't want wet feet







I clicked too soon.








missed
have to lead more and allow for the slow shutter on the cellphone camera



these two spotters told me of an unscheduled landing by a Virgin Jumbo jet

Birmingham Airport spotter site. The official airport web site can be found at www.bhx.co.uk




out of Kidlington a training flight from Oxford

GOTCHA


and I walked to my last viewpoint

the ramp at Marston Green station
to get the green train into Brum

I like to pair snaps - the Lowry like snap of and by the hot dog stand in a previous blog is looking at where I am now

My earliest memory of this corner is in about 1943 and that it was bombed flat by the germans in world war two.
We walked to the left up New Street stepping over the firehoses as they damped down the remains of next building. We were on the way to catch a bus to Dudley Zoo

on the way to the markets at the Bull Ring
more street furniture


and I got home at sunset








all that lot cost £4.10 or 44 danish kroner or $7.25 at the Birmingham market

the Sony camera in the cell phone has the same performance as an older Sony Handycam -. the big trick is breathing out and relaxing before clicking the shutter.

chelmsley sunrise

am I posting too many sunrises?

my bedroom window faces east






after a clear night it was a little frosty again










I have the same motif and angle but it changes all the time - these snaps are with the handycam





an old lady, Miss Reeve Johnson, taught me to observe the changing colours of the two mile distant Solihull church steeple as clouds passed over the sun,

hanging out of my window looking south towards Acton Hall wood and nature reserve




the new North Campus of Solihull College





hanging out of my kitchen window looking west the Birmingham Snow Hill BT Tower
and beyond to the mast at B68 9UA about 2o km away



pigeons from my kitchen window

try http://maps.google.co.uk/
and enter
b37 5bx to b68 9ua

panoramas before breakfast

and the back end of the bad weather disappearing over the horizon















just after sunrise

big breakfast today

and the two fruits alone are for lunch
the dazzling view from my kitchen

taking out the trash on the way to the bus stop

and the walls were cleaned down within 3 days

shadows and sun and solihull library

no more tags on Jim Carrey


















Solihull library courtyard






up and down four times doing LAPHAM heraldry and genealogy









afterwards sat and ate my two fruits

I got here just after sunset



from the same viewpoint as the next blog

marston green station and handycam

I said I would be back with the better camera
a very good view point to learn the zoom lens

Sutton Coldfield TV mast

The cranes are building the new North Campus for Solihull College

I think it is Merton House to the left and I walked home by the stream, Acton Brook, to the sound of many birds

the redevelopment of Chelmsley Wood town centre is on the way and I had been wondering what these cranes were for
morning view looking from Merton House

by night

Bosworth Drive, Chelmsley Wood

misty days

this morning there was not enough light to use the LIDL binoculars with the phone







so these were from a few days ago on the memory stick of the Sony handicam



a river of mist
remember to click to enlarge any these pictures

this morning was to be a rainy 70th birthday






the bus stop is still not repaired

the catholic church in Bosworth Drive below two of the Chelmsley Wood tower blocks









these greys punctuated by the street furniture looked great through the binoculars

but were tricky to snap

twelth night

gardeners trimmed the shrubs until their half truck was full



then the scanner got here






parcel force had bounced it around
until the parcel rattled
but it works ok

the new setup meant clearing the floor

Bithday Card from B

Lowry ::: A Procession

eleventh day of christmas

not much to do on New Years Eve but go shopping in the City centre Birmingham

and look at the decorations of the Bull Ring

Lord Nelson is almost back in his original position




I wanted to make a modern christmas tree in Copenhagen but tradition ruled

































strings make the snowflakes inside move







today I went to Marston Green station and took the footbridge

which turned out to be a good viewpoint

and of the end of the runway at BHX

Birmngham Airport and I will be back with the handicam

and I climbed the 36 steps up at New Street Staion too








the Rotunda above is going to be cake sliced into appartments

this staircase is in the Bull Ring shopping mall

























I was heading for the open market at 3:30 pm they were giving the stuff away


2 cabbages for 50p at Birmingham market

the blogger image upload was failing so I had to wait and watched Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler on the box
Der Untergang

I saw the site in Berlin 14 years later in 1959

my great dentist

30/09/2005 and a good day for a walk to the dentist









and new chairs too
but where is the old comfortable armchair I could doze in ?







the front door





and the very efficient receptionists

in Harry Hunjan's surgery
and the big plastic chair is easy to keep clean

Harry Potter

and the bunsen burner reminds me of my own school days







I hung up my blazer before I sat down






Harry Hunjan & Associates : Craig Croft, Birmingham , West Midlands, B37 7TR (cosmetic dentistry, implant teatment, dental surgeons , private and NHS dentists in your local dental practice: Dr Harkirat Sing Hunjan, Dr Robert Stanle T:
Craig Croft, Birmingham , West Midlands B37 7TR Tel: 0121-770-1533

and the master poses

IMPLANT CLINIC
and
DENTAL CENTRE



another OAP asked me why I photographed Craig Croft

well it is soon to be modernised and much will be changed

exercising on stairs

Solihull: 140 steps in Merton House

Steps at Charlottenlund Station
typically 39 or 40 between railway and street in Denmark

snaps: Gesegnete Weihnachten und ein glückliches neues Jahr!
this blog involved a lot of walking up and down steps too

I no longer have to take every elevator (lift) and when I stay at home do a work out on the 10 floor 140 step staircase indoors

bathroom jobs

when I got up this morning all my clothes had dried nicely after 24 hours on the ARGOS wire frame





the black hangers were thrown in the rubbish bin outside LIDL by someone who had bought a lot of SPORTS SOCCER football shirts and I grabbed them and recycled them here.


After the bath the film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines was on the box and I laughed and laughed and laughed




This is the local builders yard where I got some strange glue a few days ago







DANGER BE CAREFUL OPEN PACKS OF BRICKS
the new I'll sue you Britain


After five years only one glued joint is holdingBath rack/brushes/soap dish LÅDDAN
from IKEA

all done


and back in place by the edwardian towel rail (originally brown) from my Watkins grandparents' home in Usk Monmouthshire

dawn chelmsley wood

This is my setup here with a Microsoft danish keyboard and BBC Breakfast TV on the Panasonic digital TV made in Wales
(blue glare from new hard disk Sony Vaio is working but with dead screen)
Twinings tea made with soft water also from Wales
The dams, reservoirs, and 73 mile aqueduct of the ElanValley waterworks in mid-Wales were built a hundred years ago to supply desperately needed clean water to the city of Birmingham in the English midlands

sunrise was 8:17 AM GMT and set 4:04 PM GMT
weather at
Coleshill, United Kingdom
which village is to the left of the picture

the exact moment of sunrise a week after the shortest day note how far south on the horizon

morning bath time, and the clutter is because my wooden IKEA bridge has become unglued

from Wednesbury (Birmingham)branch
Bath rack/brushes/soap dish LÅDDAN

cell phone camera view through the finder of the LIDLSCOPE

I want to find out how to photograph through the telescope too

Vollmond - fotografiert durch ein 99 Euro "teures" Lidlscope - Kamera Canon Powershot G2

happy new year

breakfast at midday
and I could not resist playing with the LIDL Bresser binoculars again

nearer to 1:00 pm the shadow of the tower block has already moved clockwise past the due north




slightly better focus but I could see a little more of the 242 metres (794ft) Sutton Coldfield mast with my own eyes than the phone cam



close up shows the white polystyrene take away box I photographed on Thursday December 29 last year

Chelmsley Wood Health Centre above

and you can just see the Lichfield TV mast

using the binoculars as a long lens

note the shadow has moved whilst I was taking these snaps