27,29 & 30.11.08: Thanksgiving and Birthday Celebrations

Thanksgiving with Family and Friends (27.11.08)





Birthday Celebrations in the City (30.11.08)

BOO! All Hallows' Eve - 31.10.08

After seeing James Bond: Quantum of Solace (which, by the way, was incredible) on its opening day and an evening in the city, we came back to carve pumpkins, which we placed in our front window. I thought Caitlin might appreciate my friendly pirate theme.

Imperial War Museum North - 30.10.08

Woodrow Wilson Toby Jug...

German Deutschmark from Weimar Republic: The bottom one reads "Funfhundert Millionen Mark [500,000,000]".







US Army Playing Cards (2003): Given to the coalition forces and display Iraq's most wanted.

Pride and Prejudice: Lyme Park - 27.10.08

A beautiful mansion, set into vast grounds, south of Manchester. Used as the back drop for the BBC's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, the house strikes quite as pose as you approach it from a remarkably long driveway. The anticipation as you work you way through the parkland makes the building seem all the more impressive when you finally "make it". The interior is an eclectic mix of fittings and furnishings from every era, from Tudor to early 20th century, not to mention the pre-A.D souvenirs hanging from the walls. I think there has always been a tendency to want to "keep up with the Joneses", so the house possesses all that was the height of fashion throughout the ages. It was quite unlike anything I had seen before but, in a strange kind of way, it worked and certainly added to its charm. It is interesting to see how attitudes towards priceless items have changed over time; the Victorians evidently thought nothing of cutting round an x hundred year old tapestry to accommodate a light fitting or doorway.

Shannie would certainly have approved of the gardens, in all their autumnal glory, and its Victorian greenhouse conservatory.

Above is my favourite photograph of the day. It was the perfect light for capturing the building in all its glory!

Victoria Baths Restoration Project - 19.10.08

Manchester's Victorian Baths appeared on a BBC series called Restoration and was chosen, by the British public, to receive the 3 million pounds raised by the programme. The money has been put to positive use, repairing the frontage and bringing its stunning stained glass windows back to their former glory, but it is thought that the bulding will need at least another 15 million to complete the project. The future of the building still seems uncertain but the Friends of the Victoria Baths are holding out for it to be opened up to the public as a swimming facility and Turkish Baths.