Gravesend Clock Tower

Three posts in a row featuring refurbished spaces. Today I had the chance to get pictures of the clock tower in Gravesend. It has this year had a restoration. New lighting put in and general tidy up.

Having a Whale of a Time.

After the V&A we were wondering what to do so we had a trip across the road to see the new installation of the Blue Whale skeleton in the entrance hall of the Natural History Museum.

The V&A

On the visit to the V&A to see the Pink Floyd show, we had arranged to meet up at the Exhibition Road entrance. As it was many years since I had been to the V&A, I was amazed at the changes to the entrance, which is now called the Sackler Courtyard.

On enquiring how long it was since the entrance was built, I was told 'only three weeks!'

No wonder none of us recognised it.

Their Mortal Remains

Went up to see the massive Pink Floyd exhibition at the V&A today.

Three hours later we fell out at the other side. After an amazing audio and visual experience.

We each had our own set of headphones and a box that picked up the audio track of each bit of the show. So with the sound turned up to maximum it was a slow wander through nearly 50 years of music. At the end you came out into a room with images projected onto all four walls, and a blasting soundtrack.

Not Being an Anorak

I will start today by giving the following disclaimer.

'I AM NOT AN ANOARK! I may take an interest in slightly obscure subjects, but I am not obsessive about things.'

Everyday on my walk to the station I pass many different manhole covers set into the road and pavement. 

These cover all different types of services, Water mains, fire mains, optical fibre internet, electricity, gas and phones. It is the phones that are the most interesting as each is marked with whatever the current name and Logo is for the company running the service

I think the oldest cover is this one 

It is branded as Post Office telegraphed. 

These three are all branded as Post Office Telephones

Next in age looks to be this cover branded GPO and has the number 65 on it which I think may have been the year of manufacture.

Next is this one.

Branded PO and what may be a date of 1972

Next comes this

With the Telecom logo with the morse signal for T making up the bar of the 'T' in the logo. This could be dated to 1987

Finally these covers

Branded BT and possibly dated 2002 and 2017.

AsI said at the start I am not obsessive about this, its just I find it interesting to have all this history at my feet on a short walk to the station.

More Brutal

More high lights of Gravesend brutalist buildings.

Et Tu Brutal

The Civic Centre at Gravesend is an interesting piece of Brutalist Architecture.

Port Sunlight

After a couple of days in North Wales for a family wedding, we ended up at the Lady Lever art gallery and Port Sunlight.

Mainly for a relaxing day after all the goings on over the past few days.

4000 Years and Counting

The Yew tree in the churchyard at Llangernyw is possibly 4000 years old. The churchyard also contains the graves of some family members from the family tree of my wife.

They used to be tenant farmers locally, at the start of the 20th century.

We still have the old kitchen table from their farmhouse and the old family story is, that at some point they lost the farm and did a midnight move with all their possessions that they could carry, roped into the upturned table that was sitting on a cart.

Wightwick Manor

We spent most of the day travelling, with a stop at Wightwick Manor

Mackerel Sky

Mackerel sky on the morning commute today.

Any Port in a Storm

Lightship 21 is now moored at the town pier in Gravesend.

LV21

Stratford Skyline

This is the view at the end of my day.

Party on a Monday night

Not often I get to party on a Monday night with friends.

Grain and an Old Location.

On a sunny Sunday we needed to get out for some fresh air.
This time it was back to Grain for a walk along the sea wall.

On the way back we stopped of for a picture of my favourite skyline.