Drink up! - Thematic Photography

The theme this week is drink up, celebrating any form of consumable liquid, and a theme that can be interpreted in many different ways.

This summer in the UK has not given us many chances to sit out and celebrate in the sun so there has only been the odd day like this.

A Half Empty Glass

Or is it half full?

One of my favourite books begins with the line, "It was a cold grey day in November." - the day that Daphne du Maurier's heroine, Mary Yellan, arrived here.

Cornwall's Jamaica Inn

For one reason or another it's several years since I had an alcoholic drink but not so long ago as when this source of water was in everyday use.

Stocks Hill monument, Ketton

The monument at Ketton, the village where I grew up, was erected including the cold water tap to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. Forty years later I was born in a house a stone's throw from Stocks Hills. The only water available twenty years after that was still from a cold water tap on the outside of the house.

Many years later with two children as well the opportunity came to drink up something stronger abroad.

Who's been in the sun

You should be able to date this pair in the process of drinking up from the size of those shoulder pads.

Eat your heart out, Sue Ellen

Just occasionally I managed to get in on the act too, when home from Norway for Christmas.

Brandy, Sir?

They say you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink - not true in this case at least.

Police horses - Rochester, Michigan

There really is only one way to finish this post.

So grab your glass and go over to Thematic-photographic-217-drink-up

National Costumes - Sunday Stamps

Viridian set us a theme we've had before : the folkways of various cultures. folktales, food, costume, pottery, you name it. I've chosen national costumes but I'll admit I have some work to do. All my stamps are from Greece.

Greek National Costumes

I have worked out that the stamp on the right of the second row and the single stamp at the bottom show costumes from Macedonia. I'm still checking the rest.

All eight were issued between 1972 and 1974, the date is on each stamp.

To see what else has been posted this week don't forget to check out Sunday-stamps-92.

Men of War - Sepia Saturday

 Alan has departed on a cruise, Kat has posted a picture of some soldiers for us.

I decided to go to war with the Fleet Air Arm and post more shots from my brother's album.

Fleet Air Arm

I have no means of knowing where this was taken. By straining my eyes I believe that my brother (George Arthur Scotney) is eight from the right on the first standing row. The aircraft is a Swordfish; the photo must have been taken c1939.

Arthur's war service took him to the Mediterranean and Ceylon during WWII. I know he spent time on the carriers Illustrious, Indefatigable and shore establishments at Dekheila in Egypt (now Alexandria airport) and Malta. Post war his service record show him as having been at HMS Daedalus (Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent), HMS Blackcap (RNAS Stretton) and at several airfields on Malta.

However I am unable to place where the following pictures were taken.

Arthur - informal but smart - on the left

Bearded - in the centre

A Group of NCOs

Among the Palm Trees (Egypt or Ceylon)

And finally the pilots.

Pilots (and a Spitfire?)

What chance is there of someone recognising any of them? These men would all be in their 90s if they are still alive.

For other groups of men you need to dash over to the sergeants at  Sepia-saturday-147

Autumn (Fall) Colours - Thematic Photography

I used all my colourful photos last year and as yet the trees near us in the North East of England are only just starting to turn. Carmi's theme of fall colours looked like being difficult for me until I received this shot from my daughter in Michigan taken in her grounds at the weekend..

Michigan colours in the fall

This afternoon touring our village I found one tree that had decided autumn had come - shame about the pole.

Kirklevington tree

Shame also that I don't know what sort of tree it is. Perhaps someone can tell me from this close-up.

A little further down the lane to the left of the tree a shrub had also decided it was autumn too.

However the view that caught my attention early this morning, while the frost was still on the ground and before the sun was up, was not the colours of the trees but this up in the sky.

Vapour trails 

 

We are on the flight path for planes to and from Amsterdam and these are the vapour trails as they break down after the plane(s) have gone.

To other autumn colours you need to fly off to Thematic-photographic-216-fall-colors

Public buildings - Sunday Stamps

When I saw that Viridian had chosen public architecture as the theme for this week which we could interpret broadly I was sure that I could contribute. However when I checked my albums I had so many stamps that could be used I didn't know where to start.

When my favourite market stallholder offered me these stamps showing castles for just a £1 investment I was hooked.

Hungary - Castles

I discovered that they are from a series of 15 issued between 1986 and 1992. What's more there is a stamp collecting blog about them all which you may find interesting - Definitive-stamp-series

The fact that I wrote about castles in last April's A-Z Blog also influenced my choice of the Hungarian stamps over the many others I could have posted on Sunday-stamps-91 where you can check out other contributions.

Now I'm off to find out about each castle.

Ship Ahoy - Sepia Saturday

Alan's picture prompt this week this shows the German built SS Imperator arriving in New York on her maiden trans-Atlantic voyage in June 1913.

I'm no sailor as trips across the Channel demonstrate clearly. So I have very few photos to show. However thanks to the Pattinson collection at on the Flickr stream of the Museum of Hartlepool I came up with these two.

Sailing ship and a steam tug

At least I found two funnels on the tug whereas the Imperator has three; if I can count the one funnel on the next shot I suppose I can claim three.

Sailing Ship at Hartlepool Harbour

And the one funnel tug.

I had to resort to my brother's photos from WWII to get some people in the frame.

Aircraft Carrier - Somewhere in England

Unfortunately I don't know whether the carrier had just arrived or whether it was about to depart.

The next two photos were identified as the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee which was scuttled by its Captain off Montevideo in December 1939. I have no means of confirming that this is the Graf Spee but can see the similarities with published pictures and Youtube clips.

Admiral Graf Spee

On a happier note I would love to know where and when this last shot was taken as there are hundreds of people involved.

Open day??

I guess I have done sailing now, so I'll leave you with Rod before you change ships over at Sepia-saturday-146 

 

 

Shiny - Thematic Photography

You would think a crab is an unlikely animal to qualify for Carmi's theme of shiny. However take a look at this.

Crab Nebula

By Hubble Space Telescope - NASA

Hubble may have given us a chance to span the heavens but back on Earth it's just a bridge that spans a river which qualifies as shiny.

Infinity Bridge - Stockton-on-Tees.

This shot and another view which would also fit the 'shiny' theme appeared back in January 2011 under  curves

For other shiny reflections go to Thematic-photographic-215