Tuesday 30 August 2011

147. Dreary day


I went for a walk in the drizzle this morning. 
Not a particularly nice day weather wise, but there are still crabs and lobsters to be caught so the boats are out as usual.

Monday 29 August 2011

146. My favourite rock


This is the view from my favourite rock. 
I go and sit here sometimes for total peace and quiet, so I'm not giving away its exact location!

Sunday 28 August 2011

145. Flower Show

Some pics of yesterday's Flower Show held in the Village Hall. 
An amazing display of perfect flowers and vegetables, delicious looking baking and preserves and lots of super crafts. 

Friday 26 August 2011

143. Overhanging greenery


Many moons ago I posted a picture of this wall with gorgeous purple flowers growing on it.  Now it's covered in the overhanging foliage from a plant in the garden on the other side.  Love it!

Thursday 25 August 2011

142. Starglazing


This is the home of Hilary Firth's Starglazing.  Come along during the North East Open Studios next month to see what's behind the black doors!

Wednesday 24 August 2011

141. Giant Rosebay Willowherb


I took several photos of these plants on the old railway line yesterday, but it was difficult to take one that truly shows the size of these giants.  So, although Ewan won't thank me for this, here's all 6' 1" of him surrounded by a sea of purple and green. 

Tuesday 23 August 2011

140. Inside the lobster shed

I've been meaning to post these photos ever since I took them at the Fish Festival.  This was the first time I'd ever been inside McBay's lobster shed down at the harbour. 

Murray McBay & Co is a hugely successful Johnshaven company, exporting live seafood around the world.  You can read more about them on their website. 

The building will be open to the public again on Doors Open Days on September 17th, which fortunately coincides with the North East Open Studios week - lots of reasons to come and visit!



Monday 22 August 2011

139. Waird's Park buildings


Here are the buildings at Waird's Park.  On the left is the toilet and shower block for the camping and caravan site.  To the right is the reception area, changing rooms and meeting room facilities. 

The caravan site is a community venture, so all profits go into providing super facilities for the village.  For a place of its size, we really do have amazing facilities, including all weather courts/pitches - all thanks to Waird's Park.

Sunday 21 August 2011

138. Over the fields


Here's a photo I took yesterday evening, looking down towards the village from the A92. 

Saturday 20 August 2011

137. Seaweed


It's funny how some parts of the beach are totally covered in seaweed, other parts have a tiny amount, and vast stretches of rock are completely seaweed-free.  I'm sure there's a logical explanation.

Friday 19 August 2011

136. Patchwork Shed


This wee shed that has obviously been patched up over the years.
I'd love to paint each patch in a different colour and then paint stitch lines on top to 'sew' them together!

Thursday 18 August 2011

135. Puddles


Something in this puddle caught my eye. 
There's green slimy stuff on the mud and it was covered in hundreds of tiny air bubbles.  Never seen that before!

Wednesday 17 August 2011

134. Thistledown

I took this photo of some thistledown...


...and then looked behind me and saw that it was everywhere!!

Tuesday 16 August 2011

133. Painted stones


Whilst out for a walk this morning I spotted these painted stones on a wall.  I think they may have been done during the Fish Festival but I'm not entirely sure. 

It's a gloriously hot and sunny day here today :)

Monday 15 August 2011

132. Contrasts


The pile of rusty anchors I photographed last week were moved for the Fish Festival - now they are next to Richard's shiny new boat.
I love the colours in this picture, with the sun shining on the boat and the freshly painted Lifeboat House behind.

Sunday 14 August 2011

131. Back to normal


Peace and quiet returns.  This is how the harbour looked in the sunshine this morning.

Saturday 13 August 2011

130. The Fish Festival

This is one of those occasions when one photo just isn't enough.

For one day every year, Johnshaven is transformed from a sleepy fishing village to a hive of activity with crowds of about 4000 people descending on us for the Fish Festival.

Any profits from the event, currently in its 15th year, go towards community projects.  Recent beneficiaries include the Little Nippers toddler group, Johnshaven Guides and the Bowling Club.



There are people everywhere!



The highlight for me - my daughter's band, Standby, performed (brilliantly) for an hour. 


The Newtonhill Pipe Band on the pier.


 Crowds gathering for the raft race.


The Stealth Bomber and the Johnner Bomber take to the water.


And they're off!

Friday 12 August 2011

129. Getting ready

Huge events like tomorrow's Johnshaven Fish Festival don't just happen - months of planning go into ensuring that the day is a big success.
 
The team of hardworking volunteers behind the event have recently been out in the evenings, sweeping the harbour area, unblocking drains and cutting grass.

Today they were putting up the stalls ready for tomorrow.






Thursday 11 August 2011

128. White cottage


This freshly painted cottage on the sea front looks lovely in the evening sunshine. 

Anyone in Johnshaven just now will know that this wasn't taken today or yesterday, but on a day when the skies were blue - seems like a distant memory, but it was only last week!

Wednesday 10 August 2011

127. Anchors


A collection of rusty old anchors down at the harbour.  It would just take a tin of Hammerite and some careful positioning to transform these into an excellent feature.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

126. Frustratingly inviting path


How inviting is this path?  It just begs to be walked along, but it leads to Lathallan School and is therefore on private property.  I have walked along it once (legitimately), as I was on the way home from the Lathallan Highland Games a couple of years ago - I still felt a bit naughty though!


Monday 8 August 2011

125. Spot the caravans!


This is a view of the caravan site from down on the beach with the tide far out.
Apologies for the sloping horizon - the sun was bright and it was hard to see the screen properly!!

Sunday 7 August 2011

124. Boat building progress


Richard's boat has had a coat of lovely shiny red paint.  The funny looking grey bit to the right is a system for pulling lobster creels smoothly onboard.
If you want to compare with the last photo of the boat, there's a link here - photo no 23

Saturday 6 August 2011

123. Something's missing


The portacabin has disappeared from the school playground.  Where has it gone...?


...into that skip at the back!  The playground will seem really huge once the base has disappeared.


Friday 5 August 2011

122. The Old Homeguard


This house is where the Homeguard (Dad's Army) were onced based. 
It is now Alison's house with a cracking sea view and lots of brightly coloured handpainted bits and pieces all around.

Thursday 4 August 2011

121. Greenery


One reason I try to go for frequent walks is to see some trees. 
Down near the harbour where we live and work, there are colourful plants in pots but there's not a blade of grass or tree in sight, yet a five minute walk away there's all this gorgeous greenery.

Wednesday 3 August 2011

120. Determined gull


It's a yukky, foggy day here today.  When I put my sign out at the harbour this morning I spotted a seagull holding a large shell in its beak.  It was bashing it on the tarmac but it wouldn't break.  It took off into the air, circled the harbour a couple of times then dropped the shell from a great height. 

It's the left gull on this photo - the other one was following it closely, hoping to get a share of the spoils.


The gull picked up what was left of the shell and ran away with it to enjoy breakfast alone!