294. The sea

The beautiful, hypnotic, ever changing sea.

293. Fireballs & fireworks

Last night was Johnshaven's annual fireworks display.  It's organised by Bobbie from the Ship Hotel, who raises money throughout the year to pay for the event.

The evening started with fireball swingers performing along the pier to the sound of drums before the fireworks erupted into the sky above the harbour.

Despite the freezing temperature, a large crowd enjoyed the best display we've had so far - an absolutely brilliant night for everyone to enjoy.  Thanks Bobbie.

292. The Slipway

How many boats have gone down this slipway over the years, I wonder...?

291. East Street

The houses in East Street gleaming bright white in the sunshine.  

290. In 1832...

This plaque is on the teeny tiny cottage next to the public toilets!

289. Oystercatcher

It's an absolutely gorgeous day here today.  The sun is shining and the sea is sparkling but it's awfy chilly.
This photo was taken on the pier this morning.  There were four oystercatchers all chatting loudly to one another, but the other three flew away when they saw me coming.

288. Solitary gull

I believe there are several different species in and around Johnshaven that come under the name 'gull', but I'm not very good at naming them. 

On Wikipedia I found more than 50 species listed, although obviously not all native to NE Scotland.

287. Stockless Anchor

This mighty anchor can be seen at the Hardgate.  

286. Catamaran

Yesterday the bright sunshine was glinting off this catamaran in the harbour.

285. Low sun

The sun is very low in the sky at this time of year when I go for my morning walks.  It's amazing how the same scene can look so different at various times of year.

284. Church from Mid Street

More lovely early morning light, this time illuminating the church.

283. Hilda Cottage

I received a request for a photo of Hilda Cottage from Pat Gracie (nee Souter) in Australia, so here's one showing how it looked this morning.

Pat's mum was from Johnshaven and she remembers staying at her Grandfather's home during school holidays.  He was the harbourmaster and lived at Hilda Cottage, which is in a lovely spot near the harbour.

I mentioned this to Clark Simpson, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the village, and he kindly sent me these photos of the cottage before and after extensive alterations were made.

Big changes!  I wonder whether Pat knows the people sitting outside the cottage in the top photo.  

The cottage has recently changed hands again, so it'll be interesting to see whether the new owners make any further changes.

282. Light and dark

The other morning the sun was shining brightly  but the sky was dark and ominous looking which made for a great contrast. This view shows part of Herd Crescent.  On Google maps it's labelled as a part of Milne's Wynd, lying between Castle Street and Herd Crescent.

281. Orange creels

There are creels of various types along the harbourside, but my favourites are the traditionally shaped orange ones as they add a lovely splash of colour.

280. Winter trees

Here's how the tree lined section of the old railway line looks in the winter.

279. Pebbles

Just pebbles on the beach captured in the morning sunshine.  So many different shapes, sizes and colours.

278. Beach view

This was taken in the early morning sunshine.  The sun is very low in the sky at this time of day just now - the buildings look all bleached out.

277. Second light

Here's the second guiding light at the top of the brae leading from Main Street to Seaview Terrace. 
This one's green.

276. Heroes

This was the scene outside our house/ shop last night.  We were having a perfectly normal evening when at around 9:30pm my daughter and I noticed a strange smell.  We thought it may be an electrical kind of smell and checked the sockets in the living room where we were.  We found them to be OK but the smell was getting stronger.

I walked along the hall towards the kitchen and was totally shocked to see the shadows of flames dancing on the wall.  The dishwasher was on fire.

My other daughter was, unfortunately, in the shower but had just come out as the power had gone off.  Ewan had been working late in the shop and he also came through to see why the power was off.  I bundled the girls out of the house as quickly as possible whilst dialling 999, and Ewan ran off to get a fire extinguisher.

The fire fighters came - one engine from Inverbervie and another from Laurencekirk.  By the time they arrived Ewan had managed to get the fire out, but the house was filled with smoke.  Seeing the firefighters with breathing apparatus on through our kitchen window was a kind of surreal experience, and not one I ever want to repeat.

They were very efficient, friendly and caring.  Most are reserve firefighters, and one I was talking to told me he'd been watching telly in bed when the call came.  What a great bunch of people.

Please remember this story when you switch your appliances on - don't ever leave the house or go to bed with your dishwasher, washing machine or tumble drier on.  It's the kind of thing you think will never happen to you.  Our dishwasher has always worked perfectly... until it suddenly burst into flames.

Please take heed and tell everyone you know.

Today has been spent alternating between endless phone calls to insurance companies and endless cleaning.  Not quite what I'd intended for the last day of my week off - I had a facial booked!

275. Guiding light again

What looks like a duck house on a pole is actually a light to guide boats through the narrow entrance to the harbour.  You may recall I posted a night time photo of this light several months ago.
Incoming boats line up this red light with a green one which is higher up.

274. More railway evidence

In the foreground you can see some more rusted evidence that there was once a railway line running through the village.  The white house is The Narrows and in the far distance is Montrose & Ferryden.

273. Window protection

This cottage by the harbour has had a grill fitted over the large window to protect it from the stones that are regularly flung up by the sea when there's a stormy high tide.

272. Winter sunshine at the harbour

Just look at the colour of the sky and the sea on a January morning - absolutely beautiful!

271. Crab House progress

Some time ago I posted a photo of a cleared area of land where an eco house is to be erected.  This is how it's looking now, with the foundations built and all the services in place.  The body of the house will be arriving in kit form in a few months time and should be erected fairly quickly.

270. Gateway

I do like fancy gates and stone pillars.  

269. The Old Mill

This is a bit of a sorry sight nowadays, but was once a thriving flax mill providing employment for lots of people.  I believe it was closed in the 1930s.

268. Seal

Since starting this blog I've been desperately hoping to spot a seal on the beach but have so far failed.  However, my friend with a long lens, Mark Smith, managed to get this great shot on the Johnshaven shore on 27th December.  Thanks very much for letting me pinch it Mark!

267. Bark boiler

This unusual looking feature is a rare thing, certainly the last of its kind in the village and probably one of very few remaining in existence.

I'm reliably informed (thanks Richard) that it's a bark boiler.  Organic products, such as cotton nets and sisal ropes would have been dipped into it to protect them.  The bark was a derivative of the acacia tree and was brought in from India.

Fascinating stuff.  I've tried to find out more through the power of Google, but have so far drawn a blank.

266. Rocks

What this photo doesn't show properly is the way the sun was dancing on the water in this peaceful spot.

265. Signpost

This fingerpost is at the harbour.  It took a very long time and a lot of gnashing of teeth by the Community Council to get this sign erected, so I hope people do actually read it.

264. Happy New Year!

This is how we do Hogmanay in Johnshaven.  People gather at the harbour to hear the New Year rung in by the bells on the old chapel.  It normally attracts a large crowd but was a bit quieter than usual last night - possibly because the bell is housed in the tower of the building that was devastated by fire in early 2011 and couldn't actually be rung.

It was a gorgeous, cloudless night with a starry sky.  Someone was sending up paper lanterns from somewhere to the south and they floated over us with a beautiful orange glow.  Fireworks were popping off around the village too.

In the absence of the bell there was a countdown followed by much hugging and kissing and warm wishes for the year ahead.

I hope everyone reading this has a very happy and healthy 2012.