Three Towns Forum
Members' Lounge => Hobbies and Interests => Topic started by: DaveR on July 02, 2012, 10:45:17 am
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A thread for Ludo to post his excellent photos and drawings in. Other members are, of course, free to comment here also. $good$
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Well thank you Dave and the team!. I will try and do it justice with some interesting stuff. Perhaps I can post things as I find them and then see if you think things need to be moved to a more specific thread - I'll leave it all up to you, but yes - I'm inspired already to go rooting through my boxes and storeroom to see what I can find....
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Ok - let's kick things off with the theme of our treasured forum - the three towns of Conwy, Llandudno AND Colwyn Bay. I hate to say it, but I retain copyright on these so please let me know if you ever want to use any of them (although why anyone would is beyond me now). These are drawings I made in my sketch book back in the 1980s and where memory allows, I will try to tell you a bit about each one:
First is this drawing of Llandudno pier. The eagle-eyed will see which of the photos I posted earlier this drawing is based on. It was made purely for my pleasure, but it ended up in some brochure or other a couple of years later I think.
(http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/5580/llandudnopier1981.jpg)
This one is from the same sketch book and is of Castell Conwy from Deganwy. It was used in lots of things - even ended up on the front of the Castell Conwy 'Castle Class' Crosville open topper!. I still have some limited edition prints left of these drawings if anyone is interested - no? - thought not....
(http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/2255/castellconwy1981.jpg)
...and completing the 3 Towns trio, is this sketch of Bae Colwyn Pier - sadly neglected I see now as are most of the UKs piers. Which is what makes Llandudno pier so special. It is now one of the best examples of a Victorian pier in the whole of the UK (Brighton Palace pier has been so hacked about it is not in the same class). I worry more and more that Llandudno pier will some black day fall prey to the same dark deeds as befell Hastings, Brighton West pier and Southend. Maybe we should have some kind of watch system to keep it safe - it really is that valuable...
(http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/706/pierbaecolwyn.jpg)
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Excellent! How long would something like the drawing of Llandudno Pier take you to do?
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Continuing the three towns theme (well two of them anyway), here are another couple of pages from my 1983 sketch book: The first is actually a drawing of my nephew enjoying the services of Olwen Burroughs' charges on the sandy Llandudno beach beside the silvery sea - he has never seen this drawing so I really hope he likes it!.
(http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/226/asynarytraeth.jpg)
This one is self explanatory really - it's small, it's very small, it is in Conwy it's the.... smallest house in Great Britain
(http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/786/tybachconwy1983.jpg)
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Excellent! How long would something like the drawing of Llandudno Pier take you to do?
That style is actually really quick - and great fun to do!. I never really bother about getting things exactly right - it gives more 'life' to the drawing if you can see it is drawn by a human... if I remember correctly it was about three hours.
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Truly amazing. &well&
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While flicking through my sketch books guess what I found - a page with a drawing of the exact camera equipment including my beloved Canon AT1, which I used to make the photos I posted earlier from 1981 - vis a vis: http://threetownsforum.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,261.msg48028/topicseen.html#msg48028 (http://threetownsforum.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,261.msg48028/topicseen.html#msg48028).
Now I realise this is a ridiculous level of detail, but I thought I would share, as I now have my own thread and all :D
(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/4742/camerakit.jpg)
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Truly amazing. &well&
Thanx Bri! ;D
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Changing the subject a bit and going back to what I said earlier about making a Sketch Up 3D drawing of the Football Ground, I downloaded the Grand Hotel and Pier model and made a few screenshots from different angles to show you a little bit of what I mean. It's not a particularly good model this, and there is a curious figure jumping into the sea! (maybe this was the artist driven to desperate measures by the complexity of the task). Anyway here are the pics - there is actually an amazing 3D drawing of Llanfairpwll railway station in the 3D Warehouse - but that's another story....
He or she must have run out of patience half way through the drawing as it is legless towards the end of the pier. Funny that, I seem to remember that people were mostly legless at the other end - in the Dolphin Bar!
(http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/9387/grandandpier.jpg)
(http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/6864/viewfromthemanxman.jpg)
and this is the one with the chap taking a long walk off a short pier:
(http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/2345/grandandpierwithjumper.jpg)
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last one for now - and then I'll leave you all in peace for a bit and carry on with my work this afternoon. This is a blast from the past - 1980 to be precise. My Dad took these pictures of a horse drawn Omnibus operating from the Pier entrance, and the advert is from the Advertiser I think. Does anyone remember this venture? - I wonder what happened to it in the end. It seems to have an Alice theme, maybe it was ahead of its time, or perhaps it was a cunningly disguised time machine bringing curious time travellers from the Victorian era to rescue Llandudno from future decay...
(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9344/horsedrawnomnibus.jpg)
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Excellent Ludo and really very interesting. Please do keep "rooting"!
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Bell ringer has said it all! Excellent, keep them coming! D)
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last one for now - and then I'll leave you all in peace for a bit and carry on with my work this afternoon. This is a blast from the past - 1980 to be precise. My Dad took these pictures of a horse drawn Omnibus operating from the Pier entrance, and the advert is from the Advertiser I think. Does anyone remember this venture? - I wonder what happened to it in the end. It seems to have an Alice theme, maybe it was ahead of its time, or perhaps it was a cunningly disguised time machine bringing curious time travellers from the Victorian era to rescue Llandudno from future decay...
This rings a very vague bell... It's still a good idea, actually, but perhaps better suited to going along the Prom itself, rather than the road.
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The cyclists might not like that! ;D
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I recall that shortly after the promenade had been resurfaced, a charity ' Pram Race ' was refused permission to use the Prom. on the grounds that the would ' damage ' the surface. So a couple of horses pulling bus would have no chance. ;D
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Well, with a little web 'surfin' safari' I see that the Omnibus in question was originally a London horse drawn Omnibus - the forerunners of the Routemasters etc. Perhaps an enterprising Londoner had a go at reintroducing them as a green transport initiative!.
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=llandudno+horse-drawn+omnibus&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1423&bih=882&tbm=isch&tbnid=7xMxbbrKs0bW8M:&imgrefurl=http://explow.com/London_General_Omnibus_Company&docid=orBbxHstWDHbaM&imgurl=http://gb.fotolibra.com/images/previews/400240-london-horse-drawn-omnibus.jpeg&w=624&h=398&ei=4tHyT6ibCKqd0AWhoPS4Cg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=741&sig=109034528895757459873&page=1&tbnh=154&tbnw=218&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:78&tx=125&ty=68 (http://www.google.com/imgres?q=llandudno+horse-drawn+omnibus&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1423&bih=882&tbm=isch&tbnid=7xMxbbrKs0bW8M:&imgrefurl=http://explow.com/London_General_Omnibus_Company&docid=orBbxHstWDHbaM&imgurl=http://gb.fotolibra.com/images/previews/400240-london-horse-drawn-omnibus.jpeg&w=624&h=398&ei=4tHyT6ibCKqd0AWhoPS4Cg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=741&sig=109034528895757459873&page=1&tbnh=154&tbnw=218&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:78&tx=125&ty=68)
EEK! that's a crazy long URL. Dave - could you please explain how I can link a URL to a one word place holder? - so much neater and nicer to look at...
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Try:
http://tinyurl.com/ (http://tinyurl.com/)
££$
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Interesting - thanks Bri!
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I am often asked by my friends and colleagues here in The Netherlands 'What do you miss most about your homeland?'. Well, there seems to be a little bit more every year, but at first I would always say: the mountains (obviously), really good traditional fish and chips (amazingly it is not possible to find over here), and speaking freely in my native language. We have a 'city farm' very near our house and all day I hear the sound of goats bleating and a particularly noisy cockerell who depending on the weather, can shatter a glass at a thousand paces.
So, added to my list of missed things must be the sound of Larus argentatus (http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/h/herringgull/index.aspx) or the Herring gull. Living far inland I never hear them and after a long period of time when I do hear them whilst working by the beach or on holiday, they take me back instantly to my early years in Llandudno. Thus on my last visit I was reminded of Richard Bach's fable Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by some particularly bold specimens and after looking at the photographs when I came back home, I decided to make this tribute to them (click the RSPB sound link for best effect):
(http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/2094/jonathanlivingstoneseag.jpg)
(http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/2094/jonathanlivingstoneseag.jpg)
(http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/2094/jonathanlivingstoneseag.jpg)
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OMG-- Don't think that you would miss them as much if you heard them at the moment-- A night's sleep would be good! This morning they were creating at 3am and I have been bombed twice in the last week as I walked past a garden where two were guarding a baby. I managed to dodge behind a gatepost, so they came in lower and had a pop at the dog. The second episode later the same day nearly got my OH, he didn't dodge quickly enough!
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last one for now - and then I'll leave you all in peace for a bit and carry on with my work this afternoon. This is a blast from the past - 1980 to be precise. My Dad took these pictures of a horse drawn Omnibus operating from the Pier entrance, and the advert is from the Advertiser I think.
This rings a very vague bell... It's still a good idea, actually, but perhaps better suited to going along the Prom itself, rather than the road.
The cyclists might not like that! ;D
Although I stand to be corrected, I believe that horse riding is allowed on the Promenade. :cyclist40: :cyclist40:
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OMG-- Don't think that you would miss them as much if you heard them at the moment-- A night's sleep would be good! This morning they were creating at 3am and I have been bombed twice in the last week as I walked past a garden where two were guarding a baby. I managed to dodge behind a gatepost, so they came in lower and had a pop at the dog. The second episode later the same day nearly got my OH, he didn't dodge quickly enough!
Tee Hee - yes I am sure you are right Nemesis, I can imagine if you had to live with them every day it would be more like 'Jonathan Livingston Hassle'. I still love them though. I feel the same way about our cockerel actually, who is as I type this going for the world record in 'crows per minute'. It is great waking up in the morning with the sound of nature (even if it is a rambunctious cockerel), but I must admit to having daydreams about roasted chickens on plates sometimes - chef's hats on the legs and all the trimmings and all...
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How different it is living by the German Ocean. Grey brown seas and gulls - but not Herring Gulls so no perpetual cries; and how I miss them.
Whenever we've made the journey from east to west coast, the atmosphere begins to change to a softer, kinder ambience as we leave Chester and the welcoming squereeches as we come over Craigside hill bring goosepimples. The wet buffeting wind off the Irish sea is also a favourite that isn't quite replicated elsewhere and when someone in flat, featureless old Norfolk complains about squally rain I always tell them I love it because it reminds me of home.
Hiraeth!
Mike.
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The Nijmegen 4 Days Walk (http://www.4daagse.nl/) came to an end yesterday with the spectacular finale to the festival which saw 40,000 walkers from all over the world limping to the finishing line after four days and 200 kilometers of gruelling marching. I was very proud to see Y Ddraig Goch flying high above the crowds - near the front of the column - some of the guys were from Llangollen $walesflag$
(http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/4306/dscf2267h.jpg)
(http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/5723/dscf2268v.jpg)
(http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6632/dscf2269b.jpg)
(http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/1060/dscf2270s.jpg)
(http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/1761/dscf2271d.jpg)
(http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/1110/dscf2272a.jpg)
(http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7964/dscf2273g.jpg)
(http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/6444/dscf2274g.jpg)
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It's a small world!
Did you do the whole 200 kilometers Ludo?
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Hi Hollins! - No, I didn't take part this year - perhaps next year...
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Rooting through a dusty box of old family photographs the other day, I found that I have a number of old photoprint wallets from Blades the Chemists in Llandudno. They were the photographic service we always used to get our family 'snaps' printed. Blades was an old fashioned chemist shop with shelves up to the rafters with rows of mysterious jars of fantastic shapes containing liquids of an amazing variety of colours.
As a boy, I always thought of it as a really strange, frighteningly fascinating place, where my parents used to take me after I had been ill to buy a barleysuger lollipop. They had mysterious medicinal qualities which completed the recovery process and ensured that you never had the same illness ever again - or so I thought in my little world.
So, I thought I would post this example of one of their photographic wallets here. As you can see they were really well made with real stitched seams and heavy duty card. So well made in fact that they have survived to this day in relatively good condition after 60 years of use.
(http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/6640/frontcoverh.jpg)
(http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/2023/centrespread.jpg)
(http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/4541/backcoverv.jpg)
Finally, I would urge all photographers on here to pay particular attention to the 'Useful Suggestions' on the back page - I found them very useful indeed as a photography refresher course, and my snapshots have improved considerably as a result. Item #10 on the list was particularly interesting to me, as my trusty Coronet Anastigmat (http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/60/coronetadvertisement.jpg) camera has recently developed a fault with the bellows. It has been a very reliable camera through the years and well worth the 48/- However, having phoned Blades at the telephone number on the cover of the wallet yesterday, I could not get an answer - perhaps they are closed at weekends now...
(http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/4878/coronetv.jpg)
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However, having phoned Blades at the telephone number on the cover of the wallet yesterday, I could not get an answer - perhaps they are closed at weekends now...
(http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/4878/coronetv.jpg)
Loce it. _))*
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However, having phoned Blades at the telephone number on the cover of the wallet yesterday, I could not get an answer - perhaps they are closed at weekends now...
I wonder if Craigydonian knows the answer. $cool$
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I wonder if Craigydonian knows the answer. $cool$
Good idea! - I'm sure his (or her) father would have been able to get my Coronet fixed!
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Wonderful! I am taking note of the useful instructions.
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Wonderful! I am taking note of the useful instructions.
Good morning Hollins, Yes indeed, number 5 is particularly good advice I think - so many photos you see these days don't seem to take heed of this important rule ;)
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(from the Quiz Time (General Knowledge & Out of Area) thread)
Well done Ludo, it's a great trip!
(http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/penrhynpigeons/P7290040.jpg)
Great photo ME - it looks like you really enjoyed it!.
I know that area very well having lived around there for 10 years. I made a poster and other schools teaching materials for the Llangollen Canal some years ago and spent some time exploring the fascinating history of the waterways. In those days, it was considered a rite of passage to have a good few pints in the Trevor Arms and thereafter negotiate the aqueduct by means of the parapet on the other side of the fence you see in your photo. Give me the relative safety of a tranquil narrowboat any day...
(http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/9957/llangollencanalposter.jpg)