Originally published on Photoblog by Gethin Thomas DECEMBER. 06, 2020
Odds and Sods, or "an assortment of small, miscellaneous items, especially those that are not especially important or valuable".
Because I am doing the 365 project I grab a camera whenever I go out each day. I never plan what I will photograph, so I choose a photo for my 365 post, but others get overlooked and potentially forgotten.
I take so many odds and sods of photos I decided to do an actual post for the odds and sods therefore rendering them less "oddish" or "soddish" as they now have a use and importance in making up a post about miscellaneous, not especially important or valuable photos. So here are my now important and valuable miscellany of useful parts of a whole post. (Some better than others). Where appropriate I have included links to the relevant post.
Below is The Dolphin pub in Dartmouth which has a beautiful antique tile frontage.
As to external ceramic work, the use of a ceramic facade - usually coloured - to brand the pub as part of a particular brewer's estate began in earnest around the turn of the twentieth century. During the Edwardian period, use of the public house facade as an advertisement developed to the extent that products -beer, India Pale Ale, lager, and so forth -the brewery name (sometimes as a logo) and the pub name (often in pictorial form)were all portrayed in ceramics. (breweryhistory.com)
This is a strap holding down a boat cover.
A nice arrangement of fishing vessels in Brixham Inner Harbour disappearing into the sunny reflections. They seem to be tied up according to size which gives a nice line of perspective. Not a conventional angle, to shoot into the sun, but it can give a nice effect.
The length of this marker post gives some indication of the tidal extremes in Kingsbridge Estuary. It marks the lower edge of the concrete slipway, which is fairly critical if you come in at a very high tide, when it becomes fully submerged. Where I am standing to take this shot I would need a snorkel.
These cliffs are at Strete Gate beach. The beach is shingle, but great for walks and the spectacular coastal views. The beach is quite wide at this point and is a riot of colour in very early Spring with flowers such as valerian, poppies and irises. The rock is a type of slate or shale, and it is tilted almost upright with a slight lean backwards so that different sized slivers of rock slide down as it weathers. Sometimes in summer one sees people sunbathing right at the bottom leaning against them. That takes a lot of nerve when you see some of the very heavy pieces that have fallen.
View from the cliffs at Bolberry Down.
On the beach at Strete Gate, a lot of effort had gone into creating this Cairn. The large stones are widely scattered so these all had to be collected into one place first and then carefully balanced. I really like the top third but I'm not sure about the middle third, I think this was an attempt at rapid height gain, followed by a more careful approach to the top. I had to crack my knees a bit to get the bright reflection on the sea in just the right position to create a silhouette at the top.
Overall Devon has over 33,000 miles of hedges, with over three-quarters of hedgebanks thought to be of at least medieval origin (AD 1150 – 1450). The type of stone varies with the underlying geology, with slate in North Devon, granite on Dartmoor, shale in the South Hams and schists around Prawle. The stonework is often of fine quality, the stones being set either horizontally or vertically. Here the stones are set vertically termed orthostatic. (devonhedges.org)
Below, this is part of the bird hide at Slapton Ley. Slapton Ley is the largest natural freshwater lake in the south west, separated from the sea by a shingle beach. As a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) it was declared a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in 1993. The Nature Reserve is 1.5 miles long and covers over 490 acres of natural woodland, marshes and reedbed habitat, making it a wildlife haven for all types of birds and vegetation. (visitsouthdevon.co.uk)
Frogmore Creek, tide out.
Egret on the prowl in Frogmore Creek.
During the Covid pandemic to aid in the mass testing project certain mail boxes have been marked as Priority Postboxes for the rapid return of home testing kits. If you request a home testing kit because you are in isolation the test when complete must be posted in one of these boxes. They are then specially handled by the collection staff.
If you have received a test kit, please follow the instructions on the kit. You may be asked to post your sample in one of over 35,000 specially selected Royal Mail priority postboxes. You can find your nearest priority postbox on the Royal Mail app and website. If you have any questions, please contact the number in the instructions. (Royal Mail)
Rough seas in Start bay.
Frogmore Creek with the tide in.
A "slateolanche" at Strete Gate. As I said earlier in the post, it takes a lot of nerve or maybe foolishness to sunbathe right there.
A view across Dartmoor.
Wooden bench. As the wood on the seat has shrunk it has left the pegs in the joint standing proud of the surface.
I bought a succulent earlier in the year and when I was planting it a piece got knocked off. I stuck it in a pot and this was the result.
Being sent up into the rigging of a tall ship used to be a punishment, and it certainly was not for the faint hearted. Here the sailor is masked as he ascends the heights to hang Christmas lights.
An abstract landscape with newly ploughed field.
