Wooden cobbles
August 16th, 2011
“The streets of London were once paved with end grain cobbles and end grain flooring has been used widely in engineering and other industries because of its durability,”
Next to Braithwaite House are wooden cobbles, blocks of wood on end, as seen in butchers’ blocks, a small square of them within a cobbled lane to the left of Braithwaite House in Bunhill Row in the City of London. Fascinating.
UPDATE: – 30/3/12 – I’ve found some more. Walking up Pentonville Road towards the Angel, on the left just after the junction with Penton Street I walked behind a car waiting to pull out from the layby outside 98-100 Pentonville Road and there beneath gaps in the tarmac, are wooden cobbles. If I’ve got the address wrong then they are not far from there, check the adjacent lay bys outside buildings there in case I’ve got the number wrong.
I found several bare patches, and touched them to be sure. I’m surprised the tarmac sticks to them at all to be frank and it would be much nicer if it were to be removed and the ends varnished, what a lovely sight that would be.
Sheffield – All in a day – The City – BBC 1973
July 30th, 2011
This 45 minute documentary was shot in one day on Wednesday 5th September 1973, using several film crews each with a different assignment. One to follow a man retiring on his 65th birthday, the hospital, the Police service, a funeral,
Hyde Park flats
Park Hill – Urban Splash II
July 25th, 2011
UPDATE: 5/3/14 Park Hill today Utopian estate left to die
Last October 20th I attended a sales talk and presentation by Urban Splash masquerading as an architectural tour. On the walk that followed I met a fellow blogger, was shown round Park Hill in record time, took a lot of pictures and wrote about what I’d seen.
Park Hill – Inside Out
July 25th, 2011
Thanks to a member of Sheffield City Council myself and a friend were allowed access to 187 Norwich Row to see what living conditions are like there.
Click image for panorama from kitchen balcony
Read the rest of this entry »
Sheffield: Gleadless Valley Panorama
July 25th, 2011
This will become an article at some point but just for now enjoy the pictures. Two large panoramas of Gleadless Valley and its housing. The same series of photographs but saved at different resolutions.
Panoramic 11764 x 1330 pixels 2.21Mb in size >click here<
Panoramic 23528 x 2660 pixels 7.75Mb in size >click here<
My Gleadless Valley photos on Flickr:- Gleadless Valley photos here
https://www.welivehere.co.uk/valley_brit_print.html
On passing through Sheffield
July 19th, 2011
This July (and September) came a chance to return to Sheffield, to see the changes and more importantly view the city as a whole rather than just as an appendage to its most iconic hilltop landmark. What follow are the photos and comments from that trip.
From bottom left the station roof then Sheaf Square fountain. At far left the Showroom and above it the Hubs. Above that the Butcher Works Arundel St (find chimney). In the centre The Howard and at top right the “cheese-grater” car park.
Pentagon Mall Chatham Kent
July 19th, 2011
Here are a few more photographs of the original Pentagon Mall at Chatham in Kent.
Sheffield: The Furnace Trail
July 18th, 2011
“Sheffield steel” is so ingrained in the language and the city that out of simple curiousity I have spent some time walking around the Kelham Island area following the history of steel-making. To this end the excellent “Furnace Trail” booklet provides an introduction.
Norrkoping: Arbetets museum and weirs
July 17th, 2011
Author’s note: I wrote this article and included the photographs to go with the post above entitled Sheffield: The Furnace Trail. In the summer of 1989 I was working on a general cargo ship called the Hudsongracht which made several port calls in Sweden of which one was Norrkoping. On a walk around town I came across this weir which took my breath away in both its size and force. I later visited the museum detailed below.
It has a parallel industrial history to the Northern towns of England and waterworks to match. I can still remember standing stunned in amazement at the force and grandeur of the water flowing over the weir at Norrkoping and have included a photograph of it below from Google Earth.
On passing through Glasgow
June 17th, 2011
Travel has long been a pleasure of mine and it had been many years (nearly 19 years in this case) since work had called me North but the opportunity to catch up after almost two decades of change was irresistible. So much is new, the Foster Armadillo concert hall, BBC Scotland, the new Zaha Hadid Riverside Museum, the Science Museum and several bridges. But better still so much is still there from last time. The Charles Rennie Mackintosh buildings, the wealth of good architecture and the friendly people.
Glasgow is a city that grows on me each time I go. Here are a very few shots of places I passed by, some of which I had time to visit and others not, but there’s always next time for it’s a city that draws you back.
On arriving at Central Station . . . let’s park our bags and . . .
