Originally published on Photoblog by Gethin Thomas NOVEMBER. 02, 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.
This is a view of the Tidal Road from Aveton Gifford to Bigbury on Sea. Tide out, obviously. First time we have been along it for years mainly because it is narrow and unless you are going that way at the correct time impassable. But we had some friends down so thought we would come back along it from Bigbury. It was under water when we went there earlier in the day. It is the river Avon.
Below is the Tradesman's Arms pub in Stokenham, Devon. This was on my photo search for thatched figures on roofs. It claims to be one of the prettiest pubs in Devon and I'm not going to argue that point. The Covid cones detract a little at the minute but it is certainly in a pretty spot.
It is quite hilly in this part of Devon and some of the villages are on steep slopes. This caught my eye on my stroll around Stokenham. It is the driveway into a private house, and as you can see it qualifies as steep. I like the dry stone wall lines that are horizontal and emphasise the steep nature of the drive.
From Stokenham you can just glimpse the sea across the churchyard. This angel seems to have one of the best views.
The Start Bay Inn, at Torcross.
Earlier in October I had a severe problem with my PC. At least once a day it decided to down tools and restart, losing everything I was in the middle of doing. It was extremely annoying and I was starting to think the computer was all washed up. Other error messages came up on start-up, which included messages of doom and disaster about hard drives etc. After a few days of this I got a message from Bill Gates apologising for all the inconvenience and offering me compensation for all the wasted time and effort.
Yeah right!
What Microsoft did proceed to do was uninstall all the faulty bits they had decided to install before all of this started. (Did I ask them to do this? No I didn't). They assured me they would not install it again until they had got it right. When I see my equipment start to update my heart always goes cold. You know there are storms ahead.
That little face looking sad was not at all accurate, an extremely angry face would have been better.
Even dying back, this Hydrangea was colourful and interesting.
The Slapton Line. Aerial view. Well, as aerial as you can get from the road that runs along the cliffs at Strete Gate. This is our beach of choice and on this grim wet day the car park we normally have to fight to get a space in, bottom left, is completely empty. On good days you have to be there by 10.30 at least. I have however managed to get the bus company to add a bus stop right there so when things are back to normal we can get there by bus. In the distance you can just make out the freshwater lagoon and the village of Torcross. The kinks in the road reflect major rebuilding phases when the road was washed away in storms.
On a walk up the road I spotted this casualty that didn't quite make it during the night. It is a mole and you rarely see them because they are blind and live underground. So I added it to this post even though it is a bit sad because not many people will have seen one this close up. Notice his shovel paws for digging his little tunnels and his velvety fur, which helps him slide along his burrow. There is a velvety fabric that is called Moleskin for this very reason.
There is a talking mole character in the children's classic The Wind in the Willows.
“But Mole stood still a moment, held in thought. As one wakened suddenly from a beautiful dream, who struggles to recall it, but can recapture nothing but a dim sense of the beauty in it, the beauty! Till that, too, fades away in its turn, and the dreamer bitterly accepts the hard, cold waking and all its penalties.”
A sad inscription about Mary Grace died aged 4 months. In 1911 child mortality was much higher than it is today. Before my Grandmother was born her brother and sister both died from a virus only three days apart. You cannot even imagine what that might have been like, to have two children and a week later none.
A stormy day in Bantham bay. There were actually kite surfers on this about an hour later, dicing with death.
Above the falling tide starting to reveal the causeway to Burgh Island, below, one coffee and a bacon sandwich later, it is now revealed and safe to cross. On the top of the hill you can see the Huers Hut.
The view in one direction from Burgh Island back to the mainland reveals the Challaborough Bay Holiday Park. It seems to be cleverly laid out to give everyone a great view of the bay and for those on Burgh island a great view of Challaborough Bay Holiday Park..
The Tamar Bridge at Plymouth, gateway to the ancient county of Cornwall.
The Torpoint Ferry is a car and pedestrian chain ferry connecting the A374 which crosses the Hamoaze, a stretch of water at the mouth of the River Tamar, between Devonport in Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall. The service was established in 1791 and chain ferry operations were introduced by James Meadows Rendel in 1832.
The route is currently served by three ferries, built by Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd at Port Glasgow and named after three rivers in the area: Tamar II, Lynher II and Plym II. Each ferry carries 73 cars and operates using its own set of slipways and parallel chains, with a vehicle weight limit of 18 tonnes (20 tons) The ferry boats are propelled across the river by pulling themselves on the chains; the chains then sink to the bottom to allow shipping movements in the river. An intensive service is provided, with service frequencies ranging from every 10 minutes (3 ferries in service) at peak times, to half-hourly (1 ferry in service) at night. Services operate 24 hours a day, every day (including throughout Christmas and all other holiday periods), with service frequency never falling below half-hourly.
Here below are the three ferries all in the same shot, including the one I am on of course.
Devonport Naval Base. The largest naval base in Western Europe, Devonport has been supporting the Royal Navy since 1691. The vast site covers more than 650 acres and has 15 dry docks, four miles of waterfront, 25 tidal berths and five basins. The base employs 2,500 Service personnel and civilians, supports around 400 local firms and generates around ten per cent of Plymouth’s income.
HMS RICHMOND (F239)
HMS Richmond is the seventh Royal Navy ship to proudly bear the name and enjoys strong links to several affiliations in both Richmond upon Thames and Richmond, North Yorkshire.
Facts & figures, 7,800+ miles total range. 185 personnel on board. 28+ knots top speed. Current operation. Maintenance and Sea Trials.
Just like a regular service for your car, all ships go through maintenance to ensure best performance.
The rocks at Portwrinkle Cornwall.
High tide late in the evening.
Torbay.
The final Grape Jelly picture below. As you can see it did indeed set. It is carefully balanced and wobbling on my favourite comestible, the cinnamon and raisin bagel (toasted).
Comestible is my third word for the day today, it has been a wordy day and comestible is one of my favourite words of all time..
Comestible- an item of food. Late 15th century: from Old French, from medieval Latin comestibilis, from Latin comest- ‘eaten up’, from the verb comedere, from com- ‘altogether’ + edere ‘eat’.
I com edere'd the whole bagel, just to be sure.
My favourite comedy quote featuring the word comestible was spoken by a character in the longest running UK soap Coronation Street. Reg Holdsworth played a supermarket manager who was a camp comedy character in the great British tradition of suggestiveness and Double Entendres.
Anna Raeburn was an agony aunt who used to listen to peoples problems and suggest ways of solving those problems. You need to know that fact too.
In one episode of Coronation Street, Reg Holdsworth was in one of the food aisles while another character poured their heart out to him when he wasn't interested or had time to listen. Thus followed the immortal lines.......
"I'm not interested, who do you think I am Anna Raeburn amongst the comestibles?"
As well as beauty being in the eye of the beholder, I think I can safely say comedy is in the ear of the beholder too. So you either find that funny or not. I suppose knowing and loving the character probably helped.
My last wicker photo on one of the last days of October 2020.
