Usksider's Photo Blog

By special request

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:26:48 +0100

Head & Shoulders

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Who will watch the watchers?

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:53:30 +0100

I have my eye on you...

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Graffiti

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:51:47 +0100

Lost Childs
Some of you may have a problem with this, but I rather like it...

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Just one more...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:40:09 +0100

One more image of Lichfield Cathedral that is, before I ensconce myself in the viewing room with my bacon butty and my cold beer... well a boy has to have some entertainment on a Saturday afternoon and this week it'll be Wales v Argentina.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday one and all and don't let that Big Black Cloud at HQ ruin your day. >" class="middle" border="0">

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Lichfield Cathedral

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:15:39 +0100

Lichfield Cathedral from the Lake
I was offered an odd sort of commission recently... to photograph Lichfield Cathedral and its environs with the view to providing material for an artist to paint from. I considered the idea for about 10 seconds and said 'Yes!'

I'd never visited Lichfield before and was a bit taken aback when I got there... it very quickly became apparent why all the existing images of Lichfield look so similar... every possible avenue has already been explored! I refused to be put off however and spent a very pleasing few hours gathering images...

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Where are we?

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:29:34 +0100

I seem to have been preoccupied just recently with images taken at the market in Loule, Portugal... shame Kiki's not around, I'm sure she'd have joined in with some insightful comments about the location/produce... anywho... time for a change

Anyone know where this is?

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Good morning all

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:40:02 +0100

Hope this Saturday finds you fit and well...

Perhaps you'd fancy a little something to kick-start your day?

You know what they say about oysters don't you? Grab a handful of the clams too... they have an aphrodisiac effect all of their own!

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Fishy Friday

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:17:09 +0100

There's definitely something very fishy going on today...

Fresh Fish

...well it is Friday after all

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Crusty old Usky

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:30:33 +0100

I have often been accused of being a tad 'crusty' and have to admit it's a fair cop... I can be somewhat stiff around the edges

I'm not as thick skinned as a decapod crustacean though...

Live Crabs
Time for a little dressing I think...

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A timely release?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:35:13 +0100

Don't clam up

Little Clams
Let yourself go and let it all out

Now I know shellfish aren't to everyone's taste, but I love fresh seafood and these little clams (similar to cockles) are really wonderful. The Portuguese steam them in a Cataplana with white wine and tomato sauce...

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Time to hit the sack...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:49:29 +0100

G'night Blogland... ...time old Usky toddled off for the night... ...see you all tomorrow.

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Back to the shopping trip...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:50:28 +0100

This almost seems like one of those movie sequel things now... but what the heck

Remember we went shopping yesterday? Well there were some really hot deals to be had in that market...

Hot Stuff

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Bloody Microsoft!

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:40:00 +0100

A couple of weeks ago Microsoft killed my laptop... I recovered said lappy by deleting everything on my hard disk and installing a Linux operating system. All was well with the world, except I missed not being able to use Photoshop... I reinstalled Windows on Tuesday and low and behold, Microsoft killed my lappy again! :XX" class="middle" border="0">

Yesterday was a busy day and I had an appointment this morning I couldn't miss... now I'm back... no Windoze O/S... Linux O/S and a revitalised lappy.

Anyone here using Windows 7? Is it really any better than Vista? Stupid question... it HAS to be...

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This is going to be cheesy

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:52:06 +0100

With this lot on offer, all we need is some bread and wine for a good lunch...

Cheese Please... um... Louise

Well, what on earth did you expect?

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Grab your melons!

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:38:18 +0100

Now we're out on this jaunt, it's time we started shopping I think...

Any of you blokes out there fancy a nice pair of melons?

Lovely Fresh Fruit

Look at all this lovely fresh fruit... we'll have to have a handful or two of this don't you think?

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Anyone fancy a shopping trip?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:41:16 +0100

'Morning all...

Having been sat here for the last four hours or so I've spent some time trawling through photos and put a small selection together to give an insight into what turns old Usky on... shopping wise that is

Come on then, gird up your loins and grab your bags... it's time to hit the market!

The Market Hall

There's nothing quite like the sight of fresh fruit and vegetables to get my culinary brain in gear and my juices flowing...

Pop back a bit later to see what we find next.

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Heartburn and wide awake

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:35:07 +0100

It makes a change I suppose to be wide awake at this time of day through any reason other than insomnia... but today I am, because this morning I have heartburn...

So here I am blogging and watching a documentary about the Zambezi...

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Missing Images Restored

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:39:13 +0100

I realised a little earlier the images I'd attached to yesterday's post Cut-throat Bridge had mysteriously disappeared... there was obviously some kind of odd gremlin thing running round yesterday morning because the time stamp was way out too... anyway, long story short and all that... I've put the images up again so if you're interested please re/visit Cut-throat Bridge

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Water Sounds

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:41:07 +0100

Chatting here in comments the other day about the various soothing sounds of moving water reminded me I was going to post a re-working of an old favourite of mine; the Melincourt Waterfall, Resolven.

Melincourt Falls
Sadly the falls are currently closed to the public, thanks to the recent weather and a number of fallen trees.

Here's my original image, for comparison:

You can click the images for larger views.

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WTF???

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:58:06 +0100

I just posted on one of my blogs and note the time stamp says 09:08:59... now how did that happen? I didn't fiddle with the 'Edit Timestamp' in 'Properties', honest

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Bitter and twisted? Not a bit!

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:06:06 +0100

Lazy Sunday... nothing to say... just a couple of pictures for you...

Life On The Edge

Twisted, Not Bitter

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The end is in sight... almost!

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:00:16 +0100

Here we are at last, almost back up to road level from the valley floor. Only another half mile or so to go before we reach the pub, a welcome seat, a refreshing drink and a choice of fine food

I hope you've all enjoyed our virtual day out... the weather was kind to us, the scenery wonderful, the company excellent

If you're good boys and girls I'll take you on another wander one day soon.

Rugby tonight... Wales v Samoa... so I'll be busy for the rest of the evening!

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Continuing along the forest walk

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:40:57 +0100

Lunch was lovely and the rest most acceptable, but we really did need to press on and complete our walking day

Our path takes us alongside the brook a while longer, before we have to climb back to the higher ground... thankfully the walk is not too taxing and the views are well worth the effort... and the sun has come out to greet us again

Did I mention there's an excellent pub close at hand when we get to the road? Just the place to stop for a drink and a nice meal

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Time to stop for lunch

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:25:42 +0100

It's taken us longer to reach my chosen spot for lunch than anticipated... apologies to all those with healthy appetites... sorry to say I simply misjudged... still the wine I left chilling in the stream will be nice and cold

Come on them folks, get yourselves comfortable and let's tuck in... there's plenty to go round and enough space for everyone to sit comfortably

Shame the sun seems to have deserted us...

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Further along the path...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:35:07 +0100

I posted the garden path of my dreams yesterday... and thought I'd continue my walk with you this morning.

This is a lovely pathway, although it is quite a long walk if we're to go right to the end... never mind though, we've got all day.

The first part of our walk takes up and around the side of hill before dipping down between the trees to the valley floor and a very pretty stream...

We're blessed to have the sun dappling through the trees at this spot today... isn't it lovely? Just the place to set up an easel for anyone with the talent to paint.

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Breakfast time...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:57:45 +0100

How would you like your eggs this morning, boiled or fried?

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Up the garden path

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:36:27 +0100

Come on, let me lead you up the garden path...

...it's not as though I'm a hairy spider inviting you to my web " class="middle" border="0">

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Sign of the times - primarily for technical types

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:16:43 +0100

Well there's a thing...

I was checking some online stats to viewers of this blog (see below) a little while ago and lo and behold it seems the world and his dog are finally getting the message and moving away from Microsoft's memory hungy and incredibly vulnerable Internet Explorer (MSIE for the uninitiated). I'm a bit surprised there aren't more Opera users listed below, but gratified to see so many people using Firefox

User Percent Browser Version 67 33.50% Firefox 3.5.5 58 29.00% Firefox 3.5.4 28 14.00% MSIE 8.0 19 9.50% Firefox 3.0.1 13 6.50% MSIE 7.0 7 3.50% MSIE 6.0 3 1.50% Firefox 1.5.0 2 1.00% Chrome 0.2 2 1.00% Safari 3.2.1 1 0.50% Opera 4.2.1

Something that really surprises me showed up in the list of operating systems used by the last 200 visitors to my blog... just look at those 78 really sensible Linux users okay, okay... I forgot to add the blocking cookie so the 78 Linux users is probably just me!

User Percent Operating System 78 39.00% Linux 58 29.00% Windows XP 45 22.50% Windows Vista 9 4.50% Unknown 8 4.00% Windows NT6.1 2 1.00% Windows 2000

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In memory of...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:51:00 +0100

Not just for all those who gave their lives for their country so selflessly, but also for my Dad who died this day 1989; I will never forget you.

Died While On Active Service

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Wednesday morning

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:05:23 +0100

I came

I saw

I read

I have nothing to say...

Have a little autumnal colour

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