Tree Creature

"bark face" 2
Originally uploaded by steve loya

I couldn't resist posting this great photograph of a Tree creature by Steve Loya on Flickr. Great stuff, Steve!

Warren Photos 4

And just to finish off, here are the last two photographs from the collection of negatives from the Warren family in Pennsylvania. If you like old cars or roadside souvenirs, this will interest you.

Now this is an impressive automobile. I wonder if it came with the stars on the bonnet
 and doors as standard or whether they were added afterwards?

Now, judging by display of goods for sale. Flamingos were popular in Pennsylvania.
Are flamingos common in North America and are these types of roadside wares still common?

Dig for Victory

One of my other specialist subjects is Cookery and Gardening during the Second World War. Over the years, I have acquired quite a collection of wartime recipes, dig for victory leaflets and . . . similar material from the US. The American equivalent of our Dig for Victory campaign was Victory Gardens!

The earth always seemed so well tilled in wartime photographs

Warren Photos 3

Two more photographs of the Warren family in 1920s Pennsylvania.

The ladies have climbed on top of a wood pile. Today, Health and Safety regulations would probably
require them to undertake a risk assessment first. I think I can guess what the result would be!

OK? We have what seems to be an old schoolhourse, two old cars, a wooden fence and a young man standing on a large tree stump. But why? Is it a family tradition, part of local folklore, a rite of passage or what?

Bovine Sentry!

In the fields just a few hundred yards from home, I noticed this cow standing guard. I wonder what for?

Horned Creature!

You know how it is. It is a nice sunny day and you are sitting in the garden enjoying a cup of tea. Then you hear a rustling behind you and turn round to see what caused it. I am not sure which of us was more surprised - me or the stone creature that was emerging from the garden wall. Phew!

Scott of the Antarctic's Hut

Scott of the Antarctic's Hut is frozen in time. More than 10.000 items are preserved there. In support of tonight's documentary on BBC2, they have published a slide show showing the contents now and as they were. The result is fascinating. The documentary looks at the project to preserve the hut and its contents

Click HERE to view the photographs.

Wikipedia provides details of the hut's history HERE.

New Arrival!

This is Matty, short for Matilda, who is the newest member of our family. It took a long time, but we found each other two months ago and have been getting to know each other. She likes long walks and cats which is good as we have three of them. It is more than two years since our Jack Russell, Bertie crossed over the Rainbow Bridge and fifteen months since Sooty, our toothless Shih Tzu, joined him there. I imagine she now has a full set of teeth and is enjoying crunching her food again!

Boy and Dog

If I had a Toy Dog on wheels as nice as this, I'd be gurgling with laughter, too! What a lucky boy he is. Now, are those marbles or maltesers next to his hand? I feel a health and safety alert coming on!

Warren Photos 2

Two more images of the Warren family in 1920s Pennsylvania. When there is snow on the ground and you are a hungry rabbit, the last thing you need to happen is bump into one of the Warren boys. Especially when they are pointing a shotgun right at you! One for the pot? I guess so. It makes me what to shout out that famous Pantomime cry: "He's behind you!" I wonder what those small huts are behind the unfortunate rabbit. Could they be hutches? Any ideas?

In complete contrast, in the next photograph, it is late summer and the harvest is in full swing. This is a very large load. My! Has anyone seen my cart? Remarkable.

Warren Family Photos!

Pennsylvania covers 45,308 square miles. It has 67 counties and, in 1900, two-thirds of the State was farmland. In the twentieth century, the number of farms, there, dropped from 225,000 to 59,000. So why am I telling you this? Well, because I recently acquired some negatives from Mechanicsburg in Cumberland Country PA. They were purchased at an estate sale but the seller could say where for sure. They are said to be of the Warren family,and to date from the late 1920s. The family look is quite distinctive and they had some unusual pastimes . . . I'd love to know more about them. Anyone know how I might research the family?

These Warren boys certainly had a thing about skunks - shooting them, that is!

Nowadays, having your sweetcorn field flooded would be considered a disaster.
Not these youngsters who paddled out in their canoe for a look!

Face in the Facade!

I was capturing some images to illustrate a future post on the need to look up when strolling about town, when I saw this face in the facade of an old inn. It reminded me of one of Doctor Who's Cybermen. This one seems to be in disguise as it is wearing a horse head hat! Note the eyelashes.

Ten Things You Didn't Know About Me!

By way of light relief (possibly), I thought I would take a break from showing you some of the treasures from the large amount of glass plate negatives I have recently acquired. Here are ten things you didn't know about about Laurie Manton. It may be hard to think of anything interesting, but here goes!

1. I was born in Benghazi. It was then the British Military Administration - Cyrenaica.

2. I was educated at Broadmoor. For those who wonder what's interesting about that - Broadmoor was then the famous Lunatic Asylum for the Criminally Insane. My primary school was in the grounds of the hospital. Our nativity play was put on in the Asylum Theatre. I seem to remember there were mass murderers in the audience and I am sure that sort of thing wouldn't happen today!

3. I was once an extra in a Movie. The equally famous Wellington College public school was on the opposite side of our village. In 1963, a film called Tamahine was filmed at the college. It starred Nancy Kwan and I was part of a cheering crowd as she took part in the high jump. I have never seen it but it is one of my ambitions to do so. It was on television in 1983 and I missed it. It is not on DVD. I live in hope!

4. I once interviewed a number of famous people. They included Spike Milligan, the novelist Leslie Thomas, and the politicians Edwina Currie, Denis Healey and Enoch Powell. The latter still remains the most interesting person I have ever met!

5. The Imperial War Museum recorded my experiences for posterity. I went there three times and they kindly sent me a copy of the recording - it ran to 22 seventy minute CDs!

6. I was a war correspondent during the 1991 Gulf War. I was awarded the Gulf War medal and Liberation Medals from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and had two books of my photographs published after the war.

7. I was once an Aviation Archaeologist. I recovered the wreckage of a Second World War Beaufighter, and a Dornier bomber, to name just two.

8. I have led guided walks showing people how to identify Animal Tracks and Signs. Not a lot of people know that!

9. I tend to see things that others don't. That sounds a bit like the film Sixth Sense but it's not. By way of explanation, read the first post of this blog. Click HERE to save you a long search!

10. I attended a 'Learn to play the Ukulele' course in January this year. Now, admit it - that has really shocked you!

Strangest Subject!

This is probably the strangest image in my collection. I scanned it from a glass plate negative and I am at a loss to say which way up and/or round it should be. The photographer has marked the negative with CANCER - Head of Horse Miss Long on one side and Dec 5 1914 on the other. Is that an ear I can see, is it in the right place and from what angle was it taken? Any ideas would be welcomed.