Handed down tools.

Sitting on the decking today I got thinking about the age and provenance of most of the garden tool I use.

For example these two watering cans belonged to my Grandfather. I can remember them sitting in his greenhouse when I was young. The greenhouse blew down in a storm in the winter of 68. and my memories will go back to the early 60's they were old then so I strongly suspect that they are approaching 100 years old.

Many of the other garden tools I have are of a similar age. They have been used in many gardens we have had 3 houses. My parents had 3 in my lifetime. Both my grandparents moved far more regularly. 

Tools that have moved around the country for many years.

The attic window view.

We had an attic conversion done on our house aver 20 years ago. At that time I was still taking pictures on a film camera. when I cam back from a job I would almost always have a few frame left on a 35mm roll of film. Normally I put a 35mm lens on and fired off a few frames of the view out of the window with the spire of the local Babtist church in the centre of the frame.

Over the next few years I collected lots of these views covering the full year.

When I moved to digital I stopped doing this with any great regularity. But today thought I would do a quick shot out of the window.

The weather was a bit overcast but I didn't think the scene had changed much.

Until I scanned some old slides 

It always surprises me how much a view you see everyday changes, without ever really changing.

Gravesend pubs

Gravesend is a town of many, many pubs.

Through history Gravesend has always been a town of the sea. It was the start of the 'long ferry' that sailed travellers up the Thames to London. The ferry being safer than the road up the Kent coast with its threat of highwaymen and footpads.
Later it was a pleasure town with ferry boats bringing revellers from London to enjoy all the pleasure gardens that had been developed around town. There were many pubs to cater to people in the town.
Today there are still many pubs around, but like everywhere the trade is struggling. Many pubs have closed and many more get rebranded and renamed in an attempt to make them commercialy viable

To track this there is a website dedicated to recording these changes. Gravesend Pubs

I contribute images to the site. They are of little artistic merit and no commercial value. but they are an important document to record the changes that are happening around town.

Thunder storm coming.

today has been the hottest July day in 15 years. Sun most of the day and a rumble of thunder later.
Also noticed that my last post was number 600!

Dream

It's been a long, long break. 

life has taken a few unexpected turns, but you can still.

Also got a new camera. 

My first new camera in eleven years.