Photo Archive: Photograph of Second Radio Officer Norman Eric Blyth, Tower Hill Memorial, London, 2014.

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Arctic Convey PQ13, London, memorial, Merchant Navy, Norman Eric Blyth, plaques, SS Induna, staues, Steam Trawler Imperial Queen, Tower Hill, Tower Hill Memorial London, U Boat, U376

I always find it moving to see any sign that there is still a connection between the living and those who sacrificed their lives and are commemorated on memorials, like this memorial to merchant seaman at Tower Hill in London. Second Radio Officer Norman Eric Blyth of the Merchant Navy, whose photograph somebody has thoughtfully affixed to the memorial plaque that bears his name, died on the 30th March 1942 when the SS. Induna, part of Arctic Convey PQ13, on route to Northern Russian, was torpedoed by the U376 and sunk. In the list of the crew lost you will also find Norman Blyth’s colleagues, First Radio Officer Arthur Carpenter of Swanmore, Hampshire and Third Radio Officer Samuel Ezekiel McClure of Cloughmills, County Antrim.

The U376 was lost with all hands in the Bay of Biscay on the 13th April 1943.

On the subject of connections between the living and those members of the Mercantile Marine who made the ultimate sacrifice, my own surname appears on the Tower Hill Memorial amongst the crew of the Steam Trawler Imperial Queen (GY502), which was lost on the 28th July 1920; the victim of a sea mine drifting across the North Sea.

To quote from the memorial itself, “The Twenty Four Thousand of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets whose names are honoured on the walls of this garden gave their lives for their country and have no grave but the sea.“

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Photo Archive: Merchant Seafarer’s War Memorial, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, 20/08/14.

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Brian Fell, Cardiff, Cardiff Bay, face, memorial, Merchant Navy, Merchant Seafarer's War Memorial Cardiff Bay, prow, public art, sculpture

Viewed from the landward side.

Lost at sea memorials.com informs me that this breathtaking sculpture is by Brian Fell and that it is dedicated to the “MEMORY OF THE MERCHANT SEAFARERS FROM THE PORTS OF BARRY PENARTH CARDIFF WHO DIED IN TIMES OF WAR”. On this particular occasion I approached the memorial from the landward side, having visited the Pierhead Building, and was struck by the beauty of the face at rest, which merges into the distinctive prow of a ship. If you walk around to what you might call the Bay side of the sculpture, the features of the face are completely erased and you are confronted with something that could be the hull of a vessel that ran aground in front of the National Assembly of Wales/Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru building yesterday.

From the Bay side.

A Spitfire “Not Looking Her Best”, RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Hangar, RAF Coningsby, 26/02/15.

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aviation, Battle of Britain, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, engineering, hangar, RAF, RAF Coningsby, Royal Air Force, Second World War, Spitfire, Spitfire Mk IIa, World War Two

The Spitfire Mk IIa P7350.

The fuel tank, amongst other things, removed whilst repairs are carried out.

If you are lucky enough to visit the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s visitor centre at RAF Coningsby and you pay to go on the hangar tour, as I did, you will more than likely see the aircraft of the Battle of Britain in a whole new light, for example I had never seen the petrol tank from a Spitfire before. The petrol tank, the hood which usually covers it, the pilot’s seat, the nose cone which and one or two other bits and bobs were arranged neatly on the hangar floor, whilst sections of the fuselage sat on selves beside the aircraft [each aircraft had its own set of shelves so the different pieces do not get muddled up]. I cannot remember the exact nature of the problem with the aircraft, but Richard, our guide, did not seem concerned [although he did admit to only being a very experienced pilot and not a very experienced engineer]. I’m sure team at RAF Coningsby will have it back up in the air in no time at all [relatively speaking].

Souvenirs: A Copy of “Dorset Society” Magazine With Notes, Wimborne Minster, August 2012.

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air show, Bournemouth, Bournemouth Air Festival, Dorset, Dorset Society Magazine, next year, post-it notes, Property, RAF, Red Arrows, Royal Air Force, Sandbanks, Souvenirs

Mrs. W, my advisor in all things relating to the Counties of Dorset and Hampshire (including the Isle of Wight) sent me this publication in the post following a very pleasant holiday with her family in the Wimborne Minster area of Dorset. The note on the front reads, “How to live at Sandbanks!” That summer we had a picnic on the beach at Sandbanks, which is a very well-to-do area; so I’ve been told. The magazine also contains a number of labels that read, “Next year”, including one next to a “New England Waterfront Property” on the market for £7,750, 000 freehold [needless to say I spent my 2013 Summer holiday in Dorset billeted in more modest accommodation]. Another “Next year” appears on page 6, next to an article about the Bournemouth Air Festival and we did [after years of talking about it] pay a visit to Bournemouth on the first day of the air show, which was great.

The Red Arrows over Bournemouth Pier.

Perhaps one day I will be watching the Red Arrows fly over Bournemouth from the comfort of The Cumberland Hotel, as featured on the cover of “Dorset Society” magazine.

You can see more of my photographs of the Red Arrows here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121480122@N04/sets/72157650595265707/

“Never Was So Much Owed By So Many To So Few”, RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Hangar, RAF Coningsby, 26/02/15.

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Battle of Britain, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, Never was so much owed by so many to so few, poster, Quotes, RAF, RAF Coningsby, Royal Air Force, Second World War, The Few, Winston Churchill, World War Two

http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/

Souvenirs: Guide, Nothe Fort, Weymouth, 2012.

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artillery, artillery pieces, Ben Ainslie, Fortifications, forts, guns, London Summer Olympics 2012, Military History, Museums, Nothe Fort, Nothe Fort Weymouth, Olympic Gold Medal winner, Olympic sailing, sailing, Sir Ben Ainslie, Souvenirs, Victorian., Victoriana, Weymouth

I witnessed a small, but significant, moment in the history of the Nothe Fort back in 2012, as Weymouth and Portland prepared to be the venue of the London 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic sailing. That was the year Sir Ben Ainslie won his Gold medal in the Finn Class sailing, his fifth Gold at five consecutive Olympic Games [not that I was in Weymouth or Portland for the actual sailing, I was only there for the final preparations].

The Ramparts.

The Fort operates on three levels; the ramparts on top, the gun deck/parade ground below and the magazine beneath that. You enter the Fort at the gun deck/parade ground level, through the barbican; the main defensive feature on the landward side of the fortification.

The gun deck is comprised of 26 casements, which once open plan and housed the “massive Victorian muzzle loaded guns“. Casement 22 contains a reconstruction of the Victorian gun deck, where an impressive collection of very proud looking mannequins manned artillery pieces that look so colossal you would think they were immovable. There were no partitions between the casements back then, so it was possible to move along the gun deck without having to go out onto the parade ground. The casements also contain the reception and shop, the canteen and some interesting displays about the building of the fort and films about the various guns that have been positioned there throughout its history.

The gun deck.

On the ramparts above you can see one of the 6 inch guns that made the Victorian muzzle loaded guns on the gun deck below obsolete by 1905 [there were three guns originally, but now there is only one, but you can still see the emplacements were they once stood].

One of the 6 inch guns on the ramparts.

The magazine.

In the magazine below the gun deck you will find a series of underground tunnels and rooms. One surprising feature of the fort is that a third of the magazine was converted into a nuclear fallout shelter for civilian use during the Cold War.

The Nothe Fort is a fascinating place were Britain has faced external threats both real and imagined; arguably the fortifications finest hour was during World War Two when it served as an anti-aircraft position protecting Portland and Weymouth harbours, a conflicted its Victorian architects could never have imagined. The Victorians were right about one thing however, the Nothe Peninsula offers great views of Weymouth and Portland, so it is worth the trek up there even if you are not interested in history, especially on a sunny day, like that day back in 2012.

Belts and braces.

Souvenirs: A Signed Copy of “The Big Issue”, Park Street, Bristol, August 2014.

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#celebrateyourvendor, Big Issue, Bristol, Denis Lawson, Jack Richardson, Kate Bush, magazine, Park Street Bristol, poem, Souvenirs, Ted

Park Street, “Bristol’s earliest example of uniformly stepped hillside terracing“, to quote from a certain on-line encyclopaedia.

As providence would have it, I happened to be walking up Park Street in Bristol the same week that “Big Issue” vendor Jack Richardson was featured in the My Pitch (#celebrateyourvendor) select of the magazine; page 46 to be exact. Apparently, I wasn’t the first person to ask Mr. Richardson to sign a copy! To quote the man himself, “When the sky is bright and blue and the weather is warm and sunny/The mighty Big Issue is honest and true and also great value for money“. The magazine also contains some sage advice from actor Denis Lawson on page 15, “The love life will work out in the end… just hang on in there. I think we all need that advice” and an interview with Kate Bush on page 16.

Photo Archive: Directly Above The Durham Regatta, River Wear, Durham, c.2010.

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Durham, Durham Regatta., ripples, River Wear, rivers, Rowing, University rowing

Souvenirs: Programme and Leaflet, Sand Sculpture Festival, Weston-Super-Mare, 2014.

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Art, Coast, fairy tales, Gulliver's Travels, Paddington Bear, Sand Sculpture Festival Weston-Super-Mare, Sand Sculptures, sculpture, Seaside., Souvenirs, Ted, Weston, Weston-Super-Mare

To quote from the programme, “The success of the festival is down to a combination of world champion sculptors, a great team of planners and designers, an unbeatable technical crew and of course the very special Weston sand”. This was my first sand sculpture festival and I was suitably impressed.

“Gulliver’s Travels” by Radek Zivny, “a skilled carver he has produced interesting work all over the world, receiving awards for his craft in Vancouver, Moscow and Spain”.

The sand sculptures were obscured from view, from the promenade and the beach, by a blue fence that gives very little away. Armed with my 50p off leaflet I took a gamble and paid £3 to a chap in an orange t-shirt who offered me a pair of protective glasses to keep the sand out of my eyes [something I had not considered]. Also stationed at the entrance was an adorable Paddington Bear created by Rachel Stubbs, which was one of my favourites.

“Paddington Bear” by Rachel Stubbs.

“The Brothers Grimm Fairytales” by Laura Scavuzzo and Susanne Paucker.

What can be done with sand is absolutely astounding. “The Brothers Grimm Fairytales” fairy tale castle, was one of the most remarkable, in terms of scale; it literally towered over one. I don’t think I noted all the fairy tales incorporated into the design, but I certainly spotted Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty.

If you want to know more about the festival have a look at their website:

http://www.westonsandsculpture.co.uk/

Souvenirs: Free Promotional Literature, “Chapter” September 2014, The Foyer of The National Museum Cardiff, 2014.

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Bad Film Club, bad films, Blow Up, Canton, Cardiff, Chapter, Chinese cinema, cinema, dyslexia, language, Nicolas Cage, reading, Souvenirs, Stanley Baker, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Welsh

Like a lot of my souvenirs from Wales, it speaks to one in two languages; English and Welsh. As an English dyslexic I have always found language fascinating, mysterious and occasionally terrifying, in fact my first visit to Cardiff reawakened a lot of childhood memories relating my struggles to learn to read English! The theatr and sinema on the Welsh side of this publication are good examples of words you would find in my old school exercise books. Now, after the initial shock of arriving at Cardiff’s Central Station and finding twice the amount of signs and notices you would get on the platform of an English station, you’ll more than likely find me holding up the pedestrian traffic because I’ve stopped to read something [I haven’t managed to learn any Welsh using this technique].

Anyway… Chapter is “an ambitious, multi-artform cultural space” in the Canton area of Cardiff; Market Road to be exact. There are a lot of interesting things in this publication, especially the cinema section. In September alone I missed a screening of “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari“, a Chinese cinema season and a Stanley Baker retrospective, featuring the 1960 classic “Hell is a City“. Looking at there website it looks as if I’m going to miss David Hemmings in “Blow Up” and the Bad Film Club, which is an absolutely brilliant idea (the next Bad Film is “Left Behind” starring Nicolas Cage.