your last chance

 It's your last chance to trash my snap taking this year and welcome in 2023 which has come all too soon.

Thanks for coming this way and best wishes to you for the future wherever you are.

a wall

 

An interesting wall here and we have plenty more of them about the place. Most seem to be comprised at least in part of concrete. 

The past may be the future

 

No I don't know what the title of this post means - if anything. Just thought I'd not used it before.

As you can see we still have the mod-cons on the island. 

sheeps

They are more than likely gone now since I snapped this in 2021 which seems and is a while back. time flies.

I am in for a bit of blood letting this morning so I am hoping that works out ok.

I might well be doing something

 As yet I am undecided how today will pan out.

to the end

 

Towards the end of the year:

Was a lovely day yesterday. Walk with Eve and Keith the cat then little else apart from a morsel to eat as night fell.

Happy whatever this day means to you

 

Happy day to you all - whatever it means for you.

May the next year bring you much contentment and peace to us all.

Thanks so much for continuing to visit this site. I might actually get it together soon.

wet wednesday in Stormoway

 

It hasn't been my most prolific year photowise this last year but it isn't about quantity but quality they tell me - I seem to have failed on both counts.

On the other hand the year has been ok and I'm still breathing. Eve is as wonderful as ever and Keith the cat hasn't eaten me.

are you expecting something new?

 

Not much of a chance for something new at the moment. Not feeling at ,y best and all that.

Having said that I was doing some printing for a pal yesterday which I rather hope he likes. In the meantime here's a nice wobbly horizon from o'er the back of the village here some years ago. The sea is not like that now, it has changed.

I may be whinging

 

This is how it was

A fav snap

 

An old snap but  good one.

Seasons greeting to my reader. May you have a peaceful and lovely rest and a wonderful coming year.

re cycling

You are allowed to start on the mince pies now as the Festival of Over-Consumption draws nearer. Lets hope the pies are ok this year.
 

The crofter is OK.

 Snap from a while back when we had proper snow and everything. The Crofter on No10 croft doing something interesting enough for me to get the little point and shoot Pentax camera out my pocket and snap it up.

I was listening to this when I wrote this

Kenny Dhomhnaill Fhionnlaigh

 

No idea but try here.

I know, I know but it is the Western Isles.

consider yourselves Happy'ed up

 That's I have done my festive bit. I am sure you feel better for that. 

now....... listen yer.

Or here if youse from down north.

You appy now Harvey :-)

Talking of which - or possibly dreaming of ....

 Accordions are a thing up here on the rock. Them Peat & diesel boys love em. But so does Kimmo - with accompanying engine. I do sometimes wonder about FInland. Must be the water.

Somehow reminds me of this.

No, I didn't want to post on the 13th.

This is not a song title either

Walking hand in hand. In the middle of the road. That's the way we do it in the Western Isles. [sorry - for those that know].

Listen here to calm yourself.

At this point I notice it's 12th of december. You will have to start thinking of buying those cards to write. And buying the postage stamps.  "Luckily" I have a less than comfortable right hand due to a small operation recently to remove a bit of an unwanted lump. Hopefully it will have mended it'self soon so I can lift a glass.

This is not a song title

 

However, you can listen to Joni singing here.

The song title was a ridiculous idea anyway, one that I regretted as soon as I started it. And I don't like th tunes. Joni I like though - give a listen and then tell me what the snap was of.

I apologise also for Happy Christmasing someone up yesterday. My sincerest everything and everything. It is barely December.

The road gritter is coming to town [but not this road]

As I write this, huddled in our little house here on the island the ground outside is white. A bit white as we had a sprinkling of snow and here I relate to the title [another song related one if you hadn't realised yet] the gritter was around early this morning. The grit and salt was flying at about 5.30am as Keith snuggled down between Eve and I as I wondered why I couldn't stay asleep - again.

 

I wish it could be a normal day every day

 

a day in the life

 Don't bother me as to what this is. Surely you can see?

He goes from there to hereby then takes the load from that thing to put in a place. Can't miss the fella, regular as clockwork. But don't set your clock by him, that would be a mistake.

nineteenth nervous tractor breakdown

Not sure where the tractor was to be honest. I'm suggesting it was in the barn again being tickled back to life or, sitting outside in the rain slowly rotting away.

Meanwhile we were in Bhaltos walking the white sands and wondering if the rain over the hills would reach us soon. It did. Of course it did.
 

It's beginning to look a lot like the festival of over-consumption

 

Too much is consumed in all walks as it were. We must remember the climate crisis - although perhaps we think that's for everyone else to worry about and change destructive ways.

Rudolf the red-nosed Titarenko

 

Love it and everything. The blur, the greys - and we got a lot of grey in the Isle of Lewis including stornoway grey . Mr Titarenko is to blame since I saw his work - and others a couple of decades ago. Now I am obsessed to see what I cannot usually see and since I still have a lot of Polypan-f film left, I will do it.

fairytale of Stormoway

 I mean is this not something?

Olympus xa2 and polypan-f. 

driving home from Tescos

When Stormoway is happening you know it's happening.

I came across this happening the other day, and now I know about it.

The last time a happening happened was when fairly Bonnie Prince Charlie caught the bus in from Arnish to have a wee dram at the Criterion bar. So they say.

And I shop at Coop

and coming back

 

that stroll

 

I know you are thinking I am posting dark snaps these days. Well, for the most part that's because it is quite darkish light at this time of year. The sun, when it shows itself, lies low in the sky and the clouds dominate. My head is in a shady place at the moment too sadly.

At least it wasn't raining this day.

And yes, the film I was using was too slow - Foma200.

bird on the wire

 

There's a bird on that there wire. I saw it whilst out for a wee stroll in the autumn sunshine the other day. Twas a fine day for a change. Mild and no wind. 

I'd taken out a camera with a zoom lens - 80mm at the long end [and used wide open f5.6]  as I had been reading about Saul Leiter and his wonderful work. Ok, his work was mainly colour and city bound but I thought I'd give it a  try - and there are four houses on this road.

It wasn't the most successful photo stroll I have had but it really was lovely all the same.

btw; there is a lovely film about Saul that's well worth your time.

 

quick and dirty

 

A quick and dirty scan of a Colin in his workplace from the test roll in the Bronnie post repair.

at least the chuffin camera works now

 thanks to Black on White of Briftol.

It may not be much of a snap but at least all is good now with the Bronnie

losing the will ....

 

way back

 

Eve is away at present so I have been scouring the cookery books to cook up a storm and make some culinary delight that will easily grace masterchef professionals. Then I open a tin of baked beans.

I used to cook more than I do at present but Eve tells me she loves to cook so, not wanting to deprive her of that pleasure, I let her do it. Now I can barely make cheese on toast - but that's Ok cause I love cheese on toast with onion - or do I mean shallots? 

and if you look to your left ....

 

Stopping the bus

 

We have a pretty good bus service here. I mean, there's buses that come to our little village and everything, several times a day. The drivers wave, smile and stop when you need them. When we moved here some 15 years ago, I was on the bus for the first time after being here a week or so and the driver stopped right outside our little house even though I hadn't even indicated that I lived there - or wanted to get off for that matter. 

As per most urban metropolis', there's a bus station in Stormoway where you can catch a bus to anywhere - as long as it's on these islands. 

The crofter is still here.

 

Mr And Mrs crofter are still here. Kids and Dad Crofter too.

I know, unusual to see him smiling but he did have a childlette locked to his leg at the time and, he wasn't making teeth. Rather, he was taking the opportunity of the slightly less windy and slightly drier weather to knock nails into wood in the pretence of making something big.  Childlette was shy at this moment while big sister was at school.

I took the snap as I was using the old Minolta A3 rangefinder camera from the year of my birth - and it still works rather well. I wish I did.

I am listening to this though.

By the red river

 

There's a distillery hereabouts. Behind me when I took the snap. I haven't shown the place as it looks more like a pig farm than a place for distilling. Apparently the product is good if you like that sort of thing. I don't much like whisky if I am honest. I tolerate it if I have to. Prefer green tea since you ask.

Yes the day was cloudy, wet at times with intermittent sunshine. Nice really.

I have since been darkrooming this sort of thing. Now winter is coming.

Winter is nearly here

 

Eve was messing about out there in this, lookseeing at the art in the little hut out there. I was snucked up in the car playing laziness [not too difficult to be honest] as the rain lashed down. Needless to say I didn't open the window before snapping the snap.

amendment; it's colder here now. iwas out and about yesterday morning seeing Eve off to the mainland for some respite and it was a glorious morning. Sun and everything. Then I espied a cloudlette growing and moving our way as I took my stroll along the coast. By the time I arrived home, the rain was falling.

Brother in law

 

Brother in law and his wife stayed at this little hotel place out there where the wind blows, the sea roars and the sand is endless.

I mean, it wasn't recently they stayed but a couple or more years back when one could move about easily and everything. 

Been here, snapped that

 

Just love this bit of wall.

Not sure why it was built here like that but I'm glad they did.

an admission

 

If I am honest, and I always try to be, it wasn't the cafe that drew me to this area that day but the walls. I love walls. It's a bit like the time I was a cycling coach at Manchester Velodrome where I had a thing about bicycle tyres - although the less said about that the better. 

The walls on the island are lovely in the main. Those stones totally eclipse concrete - even the old concrete walls so beloved of Toots'imself. Even better than the wooden fanks and fences that rot and hang desperately on the wire that runs between fence posts.

What a lovely day out this was.

I can't go anywhere without snapping a dustbin-scape

Of course, dustbin-scapes are the essence of the Outer Hebrides. They are everywhere - literally so as I write as the wind howls and the rain lashes down. If the bins are not tied down - like caravans and trampolines, they'll be flying all over the place. People come from miles around to see our binscapes and so they should.
 

missed the train

 

Don't be fooled by someone telling you there are no trains on the island. However, since they are privatised the service is appalling. Here I found Thomas rotting away in their service yard. I have never found a reliable timetable either.

day out

 

Not been feeling my best of late. Needed a day out with Eve but the cafe we'd ventured to was shut and so an expensive shoppe sandwich sufficed. However, the day was more than excellent on account of the weather, the clouds and yes rain along with the stupendous light we enjoyed.

Couldn't have asked for it better. 

Snap taken on a gifted camera and cheap ebay zoom lens on Kentmere 400.

toots

 

66

 

I have a plan

 

Our village over yonder from just beyond there.

It's been a tad damp.

Eyes have it

 

Went to a fine event in an Lanntair last night. A zoomed presentation by the creators of Eyes as big as Plates Vol2 [and 1 as it happens]. Rather lovely to see the two lovely artists again. They came to the island a few years ago and took snaps of oldies - like myself for example- in their environment. Roddy was in his element too - a hole in the moor being eaten alive by midges , but that's another tale.

Had a grand hour or two then went for something to eat - which I seem to suffering for this friday morning.

Anyway, here's  another recent dustbin scape. There must be a book in these snaps surely!!

not quite sure

 

I was sorting a few negs the other day - piles of the things hang around the shack here - and I came across this. It may be Somerset, the county of my birth and where me old Mum used to live. Wherever it is I quite like the snap.

the lie of the land

 

Keith loves it down here. He told me one night - whispered into my ear and everything. Loves a stroll down the road to here and then sprints up and down the grass, looks at the sea while keeping a wary eye open for the sheeps hereabouts. Keith is not too keen on sheeps since a small one chased him on Paul the Crofter's croft. The beach doesn't appeal to keith much either. He stands by the edge of the track and thinks that's far enough.