Dynasty

Chess pieces

The king and queen complete with their court, and an army of foot soldiers, an entire Chinese dynasty nicely presented in a velvet lined wooden box. Probably not ivory, but a nice looking imitation! ( I do worry about the king’s arms though).

Just one of a myriad of interesting bargains that could be picked up at our regular Friday “Flea Market” in South Shields Market Place.

Camera details; Pentax K100D, 28mm lens, 1/125 second, f8, iso 200

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Flower Festival

Whitburn Methodist Church

The Whitburn Festival, on the edge of South Shields, has suffered with the weather this weekend - more rain.

I had hoped to catch lots of smiling faces at the Family Fun Day in Cornthwaite Park on Saturday but when I arrived the vans were packed and ready to go, so on Sunday I returned to have a look at the Flower Festival at Whitburn Methodist Church in North Guards. The ladies who made the floral displays had done a great job using their skills to depict life events such as sunshine, rain, harvest etc. and their hospitality was very welcome on a windy afternoon.

I have used a Photoshop template to make this triptych and really I would have liked to show a greater variety of shots, but they say “less is more”.

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Salmon

Art Installations

A new art installation has suddenly appeared at Littlehaven Beach, South Shields mingling with “the weebles”. These works of art are in the form of three large cubes and take their inspiration from the salmon trails marking out the life of the fish as it returns to the River Tyne and makes it’s way along the the River North Tyne towards Kielder Water. You can read more about the installations, which form part of the Mouth of the Tyne Festival, here.

This cube is inspired by the changing colours of the salmon and it is already causing thought provoking moments for visitors. There are ten cubes in all along the River Tyne.

Camera details; Pentax K100D, 28mm lens, 1/125 second, f13, iso 200

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Remember D-Day

64 years on

It was a poignant moment, around 64 years after the main event, when over 850,000 allied troops made the biggest ever seaborne invasion of the Normandy coast in France, set upon liberating mainland Europe from the occupation of German troops. Now, at the annual Mayor’s Sunday Parade in South Shields, we were proud to see men of the South Tyneside branch of the Normandy Veteran’s Association carrying their colours into St. Bede’s Church on Westoe Road.

Still proud to wear their uniforms, still thinking of their fallen friends and brethren, and we are still thankful for their sacrifice.

Camera details; Penatx K100D, 57mm lens, 1/90 second, f8, iso 200

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On Parade

Mayor’s Sunday

We held our annual Mayor’s Sunday Parade on the 15th. June in South Shields, an occasion for the councillors and the people of the borough to come together for a service, in this instance, at St. Bede’s RC church in Westoe Road, to ask for guidance for the new Mayor and Mayoress. Our Mayor this year is councillor Alex Donaldson and he was joined by Mayors from some of our neighbouring boroughs.
The parade was led by the South Tyneside Pipes and Drums seen here passing the forecourt of South Shields Town Hall.

Camera details: Pentax K100d, 28mm lens, 1/500 second f8, iso 200

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