Header Challenge Celebration

This weeks header challenge is Celebration, chosen by Tom Fishing Guy....
To see what the other head bangers have done follow the link, you will find them top right on my sidebar.

There's only one celebration that springs to mind.... the night I was lucky enough to meet up with a fellow blogger Stewart and his delightful better half Julie... the occasion was the old boys 65th... and a great night was had by all.

Stewart speech was a tad slurred by this time.. he needed prompting by  Little Stewart.. 

Stewart was a demon on the dance floor.

John Travolta has nothing on these disco Diva's 

Meet Little Stewart... my present to him.. I promised him I'd knit him something one Christmas..  unfortunately ill health and lack of concentration set in and he had to wait a year or two... but he was happy to see what I'd knitted for him as I'd hinted it was a Willy Warmer...

Great night, as bloggers we might never meet, and friendships formed online might seem strange to those who don't form them... I consider many of my blogging friends as close as any of my other friends, and tonight's posting is to celebrate  friendship made through blogging.   

Header Challenge Nature

This weeks Header Challenge is 'NATURE' picked by myself. I am looking forward to what turns up this week... so much to go at and so many different ways to interpret the subject.

Please visit all the other Head Bangers taking part, a list of their names and links to their Blogs can be found top right.

This old rotting tree, while it is in the process of decaying and 'going back to nature' it seems to have taken on the shape of a pterodactyl.

These birds are Jays, part of the Crow family here in the UK... nature in all it's wisdom give this Crow a complete make-over... and man took one look at it and wanted the blue/black wing feathers to decorate hats... this bird was very nearly wiped out because nature of man is take what it 'wants not needs'.

  

The Beauty of nature can be found in the strangest of places, the two pictures above are Lichens and Mosses which I came across in between discarded rocks... little soil for flowers, but natures is slowly making a come back.

Natures beauty in the dark dull days of winter

It doesn't look much, a small woodland close to my childhood home,  I have spent hour after hour in this place since I was a small boy.... this place taught me so much about nature, it awoke my senses to the sounds, smells and sights of nature... my pictures are not awe inspiring, they are just small glimpses of nature that I have been lucky to come across and find inspiring.  By the way can you see a trick of nature in this last picture?   

Header Theme String...

Sorry I am late posting ... I was a little tied up.  But that's another story  ;o)

My header todays shows string which I use for craft projects, the words are from a poem by Spike Milligan.

As a child I'd ask my mother how long my tea would be..

How long is a piece of String she'd say.

To see the other contenders take on the header challenge please visit  them, you can find the link top right on the side bar.   

Header Challenge Bridges

Lew's theme for our Header Challenge this week  is Bridges...  sorry to everyone for not being around to vote last week. To see the other contenders in our little challenge please follow the links at the top right

My header this week shows 3 shots of Barmouth Bridge,  it's a single-track largely wooden railway viaduct that crosses the estuary of the Afon Mawddach river on the coast of Cardigan Bay between Morfa Mawddach and Barmouth in Gwynedd, Wales. A footbridge is incorporated on the landward side and pedestrians can walk by the side of the track across the river on payment of a toll of 90 penc. The toll is the same for a single or same day return crossing. The distance is about 900 yards (820 m). 

The viaduct carries the Cambrian Line, the main line of the former Cambrian Railways, which runs from Shrewsbury, England to Pwllheli, and carries passenger trains operated by Arriva Trains Wales.

The bridge was built by the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway and opened in 1867. As built, it included a lifting drawbridge section to permit the passage of tall ships, it was constructed entirely of wood. The drawbridge section, at the northern end of the bridge, was rebuilt in 1901 and now as a swing bridge with two steel spans.  Barmouth is a place I am drawn back to many times.... there's certainly nicer places to see nearby but there is just something about this place. 

Series of Bridges or the railway lines in Bath

Cast Iron canal bridge on the Stratford Canal

Canal Bridge on the Kennet & Avon canal in Bath.

Brick and cast Iron Bridge on the Oxford Canal

Decorative Cast Iron bridge supports

The last four pictures are from our trip last week on the Kennet and Avon

Early morning reflection of wooden foot bridge

Approaching a set of canal locks under stone bridge 

Nice & Peaceful

Jane working a swing bridge... there are a lot of these on the Kennet & Avon canal and  Jane was happy to see they all worked by electric motor, one or two have barriers which block of the traffic complete with flashing lights and warning alarms.  The motorist are not always happy to be held up...

I promise that not all my pictures are canal related, and I go all out to not show anymore for a while.

Header Challenge Curves

This weeks theme for the Header Challenge is Curves,  my mind was awash with images of Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, and of course Jessica Rabbit...   alas my dear old girl would not allow me a photo shoot.  So I have fallen back on a few shots from my archives.  I have posted early this week as I am away for a week on a narrowboat trip... with my long suffering Jane, and my brother John.  Of course the cameras will be at the ready to stock up on pictures. 

Three black and white images showing the curves of a 'Switch Bridge' on my local canal The Peak Forest Canal... it is called a switch bridge as the tow-path switches from one side of the canal to the other... the way it was designed was to allow the barge-horse to cross over the bridge without the need for untying the tow rope . When I was a young lad I would sit by this bridge eating my dinner watching the last of the working boats going about their business of carrying goods to canalside factories.  

The gentle curve of another canal showing the reflections of the curved tree trunks

The curve of the morning dew on a blade of grass showing the upside down reflection of the hedgerow in the background. 

The curve of the rails

The supportive curve of the Paragliders Chute

The strong curve of an eagles beak.

The skill of a past blacksmith in making the curves of wrought iron work

The graceful curve of a Trouts tail 

The Parish Church Of St Mary's & All Saints in Chesterfield
Showing off it's famouscurves

It's ponderous steeple, pillared in the sky
Rises with twist in pyramidal form,

And threatens danger to the timid eye
That climbs in wonder

(  Samuel Bromley  1882  )

The beautiful curves on a grandchild's eyelashes...  beaten only by the curve of the lips when they smile.

Good luck everyone. 

To see the other headbangers posting for this weeks theme follow the link at the top of my sidebar.  

  

HEADER CHALLENGE

Don't Rock The Boat.... that's a bit hard when you are my weight..

THIS WEEKS THEME FOR OUR HEADER CHALLENGE WAS PICKED BY STEWART,  TO SEE THE REST FOR THIS WEEKS LITTLE CONTEST PLEASE VISIT THE OTHER HEADBANGERS ON THE TOP OF MY SIDE-BAR

Which way to go?

Hold her steady now.... I'm very comfortable sat here

Oxford Students Playing Pirate 

I don't care how fast we are going we'll not get up there

It's rocking and rolling days are well and truly over.

After a hard days boat, a hot shower and few drinks and catching the last of the sun ... by heck she makes a good guard dog... not how's that for rocking my boat.   :O)

Header Challenge

This weeks theme for the Header Challenge is Night Light and was Craver Vii idea.... good luck to all the Head Bangers this week, a list of their names and a link to their blogs can be found on my sidebar top-right.

Not quite night, but my idea here was to collect the setting sun in this empty bottle to use when the sun had set...

 Being born in July my birth sign is Cancer...  so the Moon is my ruling planet.. or so I'm told... I don't know if it rules over me or not but I have been known to howl at it in the dead of night once or twice.