Tag Archives: Society

Friday Again……. I think?

Posted on by under David Oakes - Images, Everyday Life, Friday Trivia, Nostalgia, Peace, PHOTOGRAPHY,, postaday, Trivia

Blacksmiths-workbench

It is Friday again……  there are occasions in these troubled times, when normal is far from normal, that the days of the week blend seamlessly together and even merge with the weekend.

I am though, pretty sure that the Blacksmith and his assistant ( probably have been some young lad who should have been at school),   would know when the working week was coming to its close (probably Saturday lunchtime if they were lucky).  The Blacksmiths Shop above has long since stood idle…gone is the noise, heat and smells from hot coals and the metal  being shaped with the thud of a hammer.

Just for the record…it is Friday…I think

Please Remember ….

Stay Safe …. Be Kind…. Look After Each Other

28th August

(C) David Oakes 2020

 

Silent Sunday…….. Too Many Memories

Posted on by under Art, David Oakes - Images, Everyday Life, Memories, Peace, PHOTOGRAPHY,, postaday, Rememberance, Scarborough, Silent Sunday, Trivia, Yorkshire

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Freddie Gilroy – Retired Miner and Soldier.

Deep in thought, or painful memories, this sculpture capture, a gentleman  recalling events that  would have scarred anyone’s life,  creating images permanently etched  within the mind.  Freddie Gilroy joined the army at the start of WW2,  but it was just before his 24th Birthday, when he was one of the first groups of soldiers to relieve Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp.   It is said, that he cried and every year on his birthday he shed more tears.

This sculpture, created from steel, is the work of Ray Lonsdale from County Durham.  Freddie was also from a mining community in County Durham.  I understand they became friends and that Ray heard  Freddie recount events from his life and the terrible memories he retained.  This inspired  Ray to create what has become a fitting memorial.  It has been said by others that Freddie was ‘a normal person, leading a normal life but had to experience extraordinary events and dangers of WW2’…..   the horrors of Belsen can never be forgotten.  Harsh lasting memories and a hard mining life, Freddie Gilroy died in 2008.

This larger than life sculpture can be found on a bench, with Freddie gazing out to sea, on the Promenade at North Bay, Scarborough, Yorkshire.  It was originally only an installation for a season.  However it was taken to the hearts of locals.  One person so moved donated the funds to secure its permanent location.

As we make new memories in difficult times we must not forget the trauma experienced by others over the years……   Today it is  also important that we….

 Remember to….

Stay Safe …. Be Kind…. Look After Each Other

23rd August

(C) David Oakes 2020

A Silent Signal…….

Posted on by under Architecture, Broadway Tower, David Oakes - Images, Everyday Heritage, Everyday Life, Fun, Peace, PHOTOGRAPHY,, postaday, Trivia, U.K.Travel, Worcestershire

BROADWAY

Broadway Tower, Worcestershire

Is this just a ‘Folly’ or was it constructed to fulfil a vital role as a ‘Signal Tower’ or Beacon.  The Tower was built long before the invention of instant signalling devises.  So I like to think it was  built of practical reasons…but also like the fun idea of having such a dominant building erected…. just because I could!.  You can make up your own minds…. here is the back story of  the most likely of theories and its History…

It was built on the whim of Lady Coventry who persuaded her husband the 6th Earl of Coventry to pay for the design and construction…  Her home was some 20 miles away from this hill on which the tower was to be built. The hill itself had been a “Beacon Point” for signal fires for several centuries.  Lady Coventry was not sure that she would have been able to see such a beacon signal, so two famous names in Landscaping and Architecture were commissioned to construct a Tower.

Capability Brown and James Wyatt collaborated to build Broadway Tower, it was completed in 1798….. and yes, Lady Coventry could gaze upon it from her distant home. . No real surprise as the hill stands at some 1024ft and the tower itself a height of 65ft.

Over the intervening years Broadway Tower has provided a useful function apart from being purely visual and decorative.

In 1822 Sir William Phillipps installed a printing Press from which to publish his catalogues of his large book collections.

This was followed in the 1880’s as a ‘Retreat’ for two famous Artists and Designers, William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones.  The Tower seemed to make a great impression upon them as they went onto to establish the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

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Today the Tower is part of a Country Park and is open for visitors to climb to the Tower and enjoy panoramic views over the Cotswolds, the Industrial Midlands, six counties and to the far-off Welsh Hills. 

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Well worth a visit but as always…..

Please Remember ….

Stay Safe …. Be Kind…. Look After Each Other

20th August

(C) David Oakes 2020

Wordless Wednesday…. Another Favourite Place

Posted on by under Alhambra, David Oakes - Images, Everyday Life, Favourite Places, Historical, Peace, PHOTOGRAPHY,, postaday, Spain, Travel, Trivia, Wordless Wednesday

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Location:-  Charles V Palace, The Palaces of Alhambra,  Granada of the Moors, Spain

Sometimes a Favourite place remains in ones memory even if the chances of a return visit are perhaps slim.  Alhambra is one such place.  It is perhaps the complexity of Alhambra as well as is beauty that makes it a special memory.  The reality is that Alhambra is not just one ‘place’ but a collection of Palaces of different ages from the days when the Moors where the dominant power.  Many of the Palaces follow a styled theme, each different, but still a recognisable style.

On most tours of the vast estate of  Palaces, The Palace of Charles V is one of the first you enter.  It is very deferent to all the other you will experience on your tour.  Although different it sets a scene of the size and detail of things to come.  It will also give you a taste of the crowds of visitors who you will share these special places with.  Enjoy and be prepared to be overwhelmed by the experience.

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CV19 is going to be with us for  a long time, so if we ever want to explore once again…

Please Remember ….

Stay Safe …. Be Kind…. Look After Each Other

 

12th August

(C) David Oakes 2020

An Inspired Link……

Posted on by under CRINAN CANAL, David Oakes - Images, Everyday Heritage, Everyday Life, Industrial Heritage, North West Scotland, Peace, PHOTOGRAPHY,, postaday, Scotland, Trivia

SCOTLAND ARGYLL

Crinan Canal Basin, Argyll, Scotland

Crinan is the western end of a nine mile canal  opened in 1801.   Designed to create a short cut for  small inland steam ships, ‘The Clyde Puffers” and for Fishing Vessels. linking the Clyde (and Glasgow) with the North West Coast of Scotland and the Hebridean Islands.  Time saved, and the possible trauma, of  navigating the often turbulent and exposed Mull of Kintyre were a vital bonus.

The Crinan canal  cuts a scenic route from Lochgilphead,  on Loch Gilp in the east, to Crinan. It is here by  the means of sea locks, that the  traffic along the canal  regains open water into Loch Crinan and the Sound of Jura, then onwards to the Isles. Whilst today the ‘Puffers’ are gone, fishing vessels still use the route.  However it is Leisure Craft that are todays prime users.

It is also a great little tourist spot for visitors  to this part of Argyll and Bute.  Lovely on a sunny day, even rather Mediterranean ….. it would have been a busy,  noisy, smoky world in its  heydays.

Please Remember ….

Stay Safe …. Be Kind…. Look After Each Other

6th August

(C) David Oakes 2020