This week's prompt of ships in Tønsberg harbour is ideal for me.
Tønsberg lies on the west coast of Oslofjord just over 100km south-south-west of Oslo near the fjord's mouth onto the Skagerrak.
Stavanger where I worked for most of the 1980s, long after the first two of my photos were taken, is on Norway's west coast.
Ships along the quayside - 1902
(This is my photo of one too big for my scanner - so excuse the 'fold' in the middle)
The town centre is to the right of the the shot where ten years earlier the quayside had the replica of a Viking ship tied up alongside.
'Viking' the replica of the Gokstad ship - 1893
The Gokstad ship was found in a burial mound at Gokstad farm in Sandar, Sandefjord in Norway's Vestfold county - the same county where Tønsberg is located. Dendrological dating suggest that the Gokstad ship was built around 880 AD
After visiting Stavanger the Viking sailed crossed the Atlantic to appear at Chicago World Fair of 1893.
In 1978 the opening of the Stavanger City Bridge connected the city to the islands in the borough of Hundvåg where Rosenberg shipyard is located.
Rosenberg Verft on Hundvåg
The structure on the dock at the bottom is the main support frame for Statfjord 'B'. The 'inlet' to the right of this is a dry dock where previously Rosenberg had been building LNG tankers.
RV's last LNG tanker (from the Stavanger City Bridge)
I had the opportunity to see the Royal Yacht Britannia pass by Rosenberg in May 1981 when the Queen and Prince paid Norway a state visit.
Britannia passing dummy platform legs at RV - May 1981
I acquired a number of posters of platforms under construction during my time in Stavanger. The legs of Gravity Base Structures and concrete storage cells were outfitted at Gandsfjord close to Stavanger. We travelled there by boat out under the City Bridge to teach the site.
Mechanical outfitting Statfjord 'C' - 1981-1983
The concrete legs are over 100m tall and the storage cells beneath around 80m. That bridge linking the top of the cells was an interesting place to walk!
Before a platform is towed out to its location in the North Sea the legs are ballasted, sunk down with the completed deck floated over the top and secured to the legs.
Gulfaks 'A' Platform (not at Stavanger)
When it comes to big passenger ships the visits I remember during my time in Stavanger included SS Norway and the QEII.
QEII passing Statfjord 'B' deck at Rosenberg in July 1980
SS Norway with RV assembly shop in background
I guess I'd better end this maritime rambling before anyone gets seasick.
When working at Rosenberg Verft in Stavanger. Norway in the 1980s I was involved with the construction of a large structure which was to become the Statfjord B platform in the North Sea. The topside structure was built on dummy concrete leg supports at the Rosenberg yard.
Statfjord B Deck
To give you an idea of scale, the white living quarters at the right is 7 stories high.
The height of the deck from the concrete legs to the top of the drilling derrick in the centre of the picture below was 171m, if my memory is correct.
Statfjord B Deck
The concrete storage cells and the four concrete legs were slip formed and subsequently outfitted at Gandsfjord also in Stavanger.
Statfjord B Gravity Base Structure
The storage cell (effectively below the water line in this shot) are 23m in diameter and 64m high; four of the 24 cells are extended by the 111m high legs.
The deck structure was mated with legs at a deep water site at Vats, before the completed platform seen below was towed out to its position in the Norwegian North Sea. The concrete cells sit on the sea bed with most of the four legs also submerged..
By comparison the barrage across the River Tees at Stockton is a much more modest affair, but impressive nevertheless.
Tees Barrage with the river in flood.
You have seen shots of the next structure before but as it's from my local town I'll show it again.
I rushed outside last night to catch a village sunset when I saw Carmi's theme for this week.
Village Sunset
I may have show this sunrise picture before; it was taken in the 1980s in Norway.
Sunrise and Dockside Cranes - Rosenberg Verft, Stavanger
That was a view from my office window.
For the sunset pictures I merely had to step out of my front door in Kirklevington,
Kirklevington Sunset
Now that it's British Summer Time it will be a while before I can have a drink, so for a sundowner you need to cross over to Carmi's Thematic-Photographic-238.
During my working days I wore overalls of various sorts and colours but not the bib and brace design depicted in Alan's prompt.
Bib and brace overalls were considered hazardous as there was a risk of protrusions getting caught on the shoulder straps. I was disappointed to find that I had no shots of me in green or orange overalls that fitted my form. In fact in the only shot I have of me I am not wearing overalls at all.
Statfjord B Topsides ready to sail away from Rosenberg Verft
You can see that the photographer had not focussed on me on 28 March1981 when the Statfjord B deck left Stavanger to be mated with the Gravity Base Stucture (GBS) legs.
I do have a shot of work going on showing a number of men in overalls watching a deck being lowered inside a leg of the GBS during construction and outfitting.
Statfjord B GBS - equipment deck being lowered.
To give you some idea of scale, the inside diameter of the leg at this point was 23metres. The eventual height of each of the four legs was 175 metres. As a leg narrowed and became a conical shape higher up, decks had to be lowered in halves and lifted over 100 metres before lowering could begin,
Had overalls not been free issue perhaps I would have had to visit a place like this.
Old Advertising Sign - York Rise, Bellgate Mews, NW5
If you strain your eyes a bit you will find it reads, I think: K&M Larn, Fancy Works, Overalls, Blouses etc.
I would be unlucky now if I visited a Coventry purveyor of overalls, footwear for working and walking.
Lynes Stores, Well Street, Coventry - 2009
Lynes Stores are a bit overshadowed by that huge office block. Lynes and the other building in the foreground have been demolished.
I even found a building in Belfast showing off blue overalls.
Mosaic - Transport House, Belfast - 2009
But back in 1939, Albert T Palmer was wearing 'bib & brace' while welding.
Angles creep into shots without you always being aware. I have several to meet Carmi's 'At an Angle' theme this week. I may have shown some of these before so let's see how many you can recognise.
Tall Ships - Hartlepool 2010
I'm sure that the angle of of this plane was not intended - did someone let go of the tail?
Nosedive - Mediterranean WWII
Cables on the Clifton side of Brunel's famous suspension bridge are at an angle too it seems.
Clifton Suspension Bridge - 2010
This big beast needs to have its jib at an angle when lifting heavy loads.
Balder - Heavy Lift Crane
The picture was taken during the construction of the Statfjord 'B' deck at Rosenberg Verft, Stavanger in the 1980s
This anchor is at an angle on the quayside in Copenhagen,
Anchor - Nyhavn, Copenhagen
Also at an angle because it was built that way is this Condeep test leg in Stavanger.
Troll test leg - 1980s.
Finally a picture that's out of this world.
Aurora on Jupiter taken by the Hubble Telescope
Now that's an 'at an angle' shot that I would have loved to have taken.
As I had used up all my sunsets, sunrise and rainbow shots before, I had to search my archive to come up with these. Otherwise my face would be red, or aglow if you prefer.
A Facebook friend of mine posted this sometime ago with his permission to use it if we wished.
Bonfire Glow
(courtesy of Jack Owen)
And here's a glow I picked up on my travels.
Montelbaan Tower, Amsterdam
I know we've just done after dark but nevertheless this construction site positively glows.
Statfjord 'B' at Rosenberg Verft, Stavanger
My final picture came from astronomy research which I can only cannot trace from the photo caption and which shows a sunrise at an ancient site.
Chankillo Sunrise
Now I guess I shall have to find out about Chankillo again while you visit other folks and places that glow at
Carmi's theme this week was after dark. I had to search my archive for these shots. The first one is a cheat as I'll admit it's a postcard from Stavanger.
Stavanger - View of harbour area Vågen by night
Staying in Stavanger I have two shots of Rosenberg Verft at night, I don't know who took these photos.
Statfjord 'B' Deck under construction
Much closer to home, just before 'after dark' is this sunset from 2002.
When I saw Carmi's triangular theme I searched the house for something that matched. All I could find was this souvenir of my time in Norway.
Viking ship
Looking for other triangular shapes was more difficult until I remember a photoshoot undertaken for a different reason.
Hope House - blue plaque
OK, I know the plaque is rectangular but you can't say the same about Hope House itself, dwarfed by the railway viaduct in the North Yorkshire town of Yarm.
Hope House (For Sale)
I started this post in Norway so I'll finish there as well with a shot I'hope you don't get hooked upon.
Ugland Crane with a load from Rosenberg Verft, Stavanger
On second thoughts I found an appropriate ship with which to end.
This week's theme set by Carmi is Parallel which if you are not careful could be confused with last week's Vertical.
I've elected to concentrate on animals this time - well on dogs and a hamster named Deirdre, an escapologist of some renown.
Lily, a Border Collie, takes the parallel bars at speed.
I wonder whether she could take the parallels of the background fence as well.
Deirdre was a childrens' pet some thirty years ago. It didn't matter to her whether parallel bars were vertical or horizontal, they were there to be gnawed or climbed on the way out of her cage.
Deirdre inside her cage for once.
Labradors like to be inside the house but are equally at home sunning themselves on the deck but not on the parallel planks, their beds are more comfortable.
Sam and Maxie take it easy.
An engineering structure has parallels too as shown by the main support frame for the Statfjord B platform under construction at Rosenberg Verft. Stavanger in the 1980s.
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