Start of family holiday in Yorkshire

A holiday for all the family together we thought, would be fun and a much deserved break for all. So, where to go? Finally (actually very quickly) we settled on Yorkshire, as this is an area known to one of them, but totally unknown to the other!

We picked Wold Newton as this had a house to sleep 9 and was near Scarborough and Flamborough Headland, neither place had we visited before.

On 22nd July we all set out to meet at Wold Newton and duly arrived safe and sound. The first exclamations were - What! no Wifi quickly followed by What! no mobile signal. The Wifi was solved but there is no 3g or4g signal in the area. Peace!

The house was great and the village was a small, quaint Yorkshire one - good start. So following are a series of images I took over the week.

The church, which looked interesting, is set in the heart of the village between Front and Back Street. It is a very attractive small church with nave, south porch, north aisle, chancel and small wooden belfry above the west end.

There is little information about the church on the web and no information in the church itself, but it looks quaint!

There has been a church here since Norman times although the chancel, north aisle, porch and belfry are C19th. The date stone on the chancel is 1850. The stonework on the chancel and west end is of much smoother quality than the rest of the church.

However, At the back of the nave is a 12 th Century Norman tub font. This has a carving of ‘wheat ears’ around the top. Below are is a zig zag pattern with foliage between. On the back wall are wooden boards with the Ten Commandments, Lord’s Prayer and Creed as well as a Royal Coat of Arms. So, something is old at least!

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Monster Truck in Chantry Park

Chantry Park was the venue for a motor show of Classic Cars and we decided to pay a visit. Not to sure why as it`s not our usual `cup of tea`. However it was a good couple of hours with the highlight for me being the Monster Truck display.

Some History:

In the 16th century Edmund Daundy, a local merchant and portman, donated the property to St. Lawrence Church, Ipswich for the purpose of founding a ‘Chantry’. 

What is a Chantry?: A chantry was a form of trust fund established during the pre-Reformation medieval era in England for the purpose of employing one or more priests to sing a stipulated number of masses for the benefit of the soul of a specified deceased person, usually the donor who had established the chantry in his will, during a stipulated period of time immediately following his death. It was believed such masses would speed the deceased's soul through its undesirable and indeterminate period in Purgatory onwards to eternal rest in Heaven. Once the soul had reached Heaven the ideal state for the Christian human soul had been attained, and the saying of masses would serve no further function. Thus the concept of Purgatory was central to the perceived need for chantries. Chantries were commonly established in England and were endowed with lands, rents from specified properties and other assets by the donor, usually in his will. The income from these assets maintained the chantry priest. 

The land was still open grazing at this time and it was not until 1668 that a house was built on the site by Sir Peyton Ventris. Since that time, the Mansion has been enlarged (18th and 19th centuries), and, together with the parkland, developed extensively as a private estate through the 19th century under a succession of owners. 

Chantry Mansion is a fine example of Italianate domestic architecture that dominated country house design in England from 1840s to the 1860s. The parterre on the south front of the Mansion is a rare surviving example of the work of William Andrews Nesfield (1793-1881), considered by many to be Victorian Britain’s most important landscape architect. 

From at least the mid 19th century, the park has played an important role in the social and cultural development of Ipswich and surrounding district, regularly hosting a varied programme of band concerts, charity fêtes and other civic events. The early 20th century rejuvenation of the estate under the direction of Mrs Jump, benefited from advice supplied by Roger Crompton Notcutt (RCN) of Woodbridge (1869-1938), founder of the Notcutts Nursery empire. 

The park has been in public ownership since 1927, with the walled garden used as a nursery by the Borough Council’s Parks Service, and the Mansion has been used as a friendship centre, convalescent home and since 1992 has been leased by the Sue Ryder Foundation as a home for those with complex neurological needs. 

Although there were a lot of interesting cars around, I did not take many images only this rather neat  Rover frontage. I guess manufactures don`t put these on cars anymore as morons made a habit of ripping them off.

So, to the Monster truck. I guess this is a standard type display but impressive to me all the same.

Will I make it!

Phew! just about.

When finished, park your truck neatly please.

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Farnborough Airshow

Farnborough Air show, an event I have wanted to see for years!. For my 70th, Matthew & Vicky treated me to a day out at the world leading air show - what a treat. Matthew, Adam and I had a great day out, even having runway side, grandstand seats for the best view in the house.

Even the journey there and back were pain free, with no long queues either way - bonus!

So, to start, a static view of an old workhorse, the Tornado. The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom, and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (interdictor/strike) fighter-bomber, the suppression of enemy air defences Tornado ECR (electronic combat/reconnaissance) and the Tornado ADV (air defence variant)interceptor aircraft.

It first flew on 14 August 1974 and was introduced into service in 1979–1980, and is expected to remain in service until 2018.

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by European Union manufacturer Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner.

...and then it took to the sky.

The Airbus A400M Atlas is a multinational, four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military (now Airbus Defence and Space) as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities to replace older transport aircraft, such as the Transall C-160 and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. The A400M is positioned, in terms of size, between the C-130 and the C-17; it can carry heavier loads than the C-130, while able to use rough landing strips. Along with the transport role, the A400M can perform aerial refuelling and medical evacuation when fitted with appropriate equipment.

Pitts S2S is one of a series of light aerobatic biplanes designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts biplanes dominated world aerobatic competition in the 1960s and 1970s and, even today, remain a potent competition aircraft in the lower categories.

When the Chance Vought FG-1D Corsair was introduced in 1940 it boasted the most powerful engine along with the largest diameter propeller of any fighter aircraft in history. The result of this engine and propeller combination was the first fighter to exceed 400 mph. Corsairs were built right up to 1952, giving the type the honour of having the longest production run of any American piston-engined fighter.

The first service engagement for the Corsair was with the US Marine Corps operating from makeshift land bases across the Pacific, and it was not until later that she was operated from aircraft carriers initially with the British Fleet Air Arm. The Corsair proved to be a formidable air superiority fighter during World War II when she was the scourge of the skies across the Pacific, and continued to deliver sterling service in later years during the Korean War.

The Antonov An-178 (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-178) is a short-range medium-airlift military transport aircraft designed by the Ukrainian Antonov company and based on the Antonov An-158 (An-148-200).

It was announced on 5 February 2010, rolled out on 16 April 2015 and the first flight was on 7 May 2015

Boeing 727-2S2F: A new aerial oil dispersal capable aircraft.

Seems almost comical that each new industry of today, spawns other industries or opportunities.

The Extra 300L is a Lycoming AEIO-540 powered two-seat aircraft, used by The Blades, a British civilian aerobatic team based at the Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire.They have been described as "the world's only aerobatic airline" and are the only full-time civilian aerobatic team in the United Kingdom

The Breitling Wingwalkers, the world's only aerobatic formation wing walking team, and it is a display well worth seeing.

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multi role fighters undergoing final development and testing for the United States and partner nations. The most expensive weapons program in the world - Defense spending gone mad!

The Fairey Swordfish was a biplane torpedo bomber designed by the Fairey Aviation Company, used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during World War II.

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).

The B-25 Mitchell Bomber

The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a carrier-based multi-role tactical fighter and attack aircraft.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed and is manufactured by a consortium of Alenia Aermacchi, Airbus Group and BAE Systems that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company,

Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight - Spitfire & Hurricane

The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Scampton.

Watching them perform is always exciting and I never tire of seeing them.

The teamwork shown by the pilots in the air is reflected in the dedication and professionalism of the support staff on the ground. The support team’s success results from their Royal Air Force training, the pride they take in their work, and their determination, motivation, and, very often, sheer hard work. Without them, the Red Arrows could not function.

This team is made up of a Team Manager, a Supervisor (Red 10), a Public Relations Manager ,two Engineering Officers, an Adjutant and approximately 85 engineering technicians and other support staff.

The latter are known as ‘The Blues’ because they wear distinctive royal blue flying suits during the display season. The Blues represent nine out of the Royal Air Force’s broad range of more than 65 technical and non-technical trades. Every team member has undergone intensive training in their particular specialisation throughout their Royal Air Force career.

A really great day - thanks folks!!

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Young kestrels and Ships at Landguard Point

The loan of Rosie` 150-600mm lens, gave me an opportunity to have a stroll to the church where Kestrels are nesting. They have nested here for a number of years and usually successfully raised young. This year being no exception. They have raised at least two, and possible three young this year and are at the stage where the youngsters are out of the nest and sitting on the roof, awaiting food from the parents, and giving their wings a bit of a testing.

Sitting waiting for some food

A short hop onto the top of the roof to test my wings.

Later this morning we visited Landguard point for a walk. Covering approximately 33 hectares (81 acres) this shingle spit on the southern tip of Suffolk's stunning coastline offers a variety of flora and fauna. Unusual and rare plants, migrating birds, military history and huge ships arriving and departing at Britain's busiest container port.

This was the container ship that I wanted to photograph - the MSC CLARA. She is a container ship currently sailing under the flag of Panama. MSC CLARA is 396m long overall and has a beam of 59m. Her gross tonnage is 193000 tons. I spotted her being loaded with containers so was able to obtain a good view.

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Can we photograph a kingfisher?

Today was a reasonably early start (8:30am) as we wanted to be at Lackford Lake while the kingfishers were possible feeding, as opposed to late morning when they might have been hiding away for a while. That was the idea anyway! - and it worked! We arrived well before the Center was open and made our way to the hides. The double decker one providing us with some real chances of Kingfisher images.

The lens I was using has a maximum extension of 200mm, so is limited as far as wildlife goes, but the images I came home with were pretty good I thought.

The first two are of a mother? heron seemingly `talking` to her young one, who made a noise but otherwise remained rooted to the spot. "I don't want to swim mummy".

The prize of the trip, some images of a kingfisher moving from perch to perch while shutters were firing around us like machine guns! My offerings are above and below, and although not as close up as many people with huge lens, I was more than pleased.

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