Picture(s) of the day....

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

a couple of random shots from my archives, to help things along (same car, different locations)

[NewcastleFalcon]

Thanks Puxa.....have you still got your tripod? Keep them coming. There's always something interesting to take a photo of. Havent got round to it yet but my next contribution could well be a post-box.

Specifically a cast iron post box, with the photo just showing the cast letters of the makers name. The sort of thing 99.99% of the general public pass by and take no interest in. Jim's cast iron lion water fountain/standpipe was made by Glenfield & Kennedy of Kilmarnock. Scotland was the cast-iron capital of post boxes too, as we will all find out when I photograph my post-box.

REgards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

As trailed. The cast iron post box kings....

Lion Foundry Co. Ltd Kirkintilloch

NF own work

Regards Neil

[Peter.N.]

We had one where we lived at Platt, Sevenoaks with VR on it.

Peter

[CitroJim]

I thought Fire Hydrant at first, but this geograph image from another Bedfordshire Village describes them thus..

I originally described this as a fire hydrant, but another contributor has sensibly suggested that it would be better described as a standpipe, intended for providing drinking water rather than firefighting.

This example is by Glenfield & Kennedy of Kilmarnock, a very respected name in waterworks fittings

Glenfield and Kennedy were major manufacturers of "Lion drinking fountains"

regards Neil

Thanks! I knew POTD would tease out the story behind those 'bollards'

Excellent! Shame they don't seem to be operational now else they would be handy for refilling my bike drinking bottles!

As trailed. The cast iron post box kings....

Lion Foundry Co. Ltd Kirkintilloch

Regards Neil

That's planted a seed I shall now start looking out for interesting post boxes on my rides

No ride today as I'm running the MK Winter Warmer but yesterday, on my ride home from parkrun I did spot this 'altered' temporary warning sign beside the road...

I've hidden it behind a spoiler as it's a little rude...

Spoiler: show

Own Work

I'm not responsible for it! It did make me giggle

[NewcastleFalcon]

Excellent Jim.

I have posted this up before, but it is lost within the dusty never to be revived little curiosities I have come across......until you have provided the link with your roadsign. When I saw it I thought of this wonderful site, which goes into a fair bit of pictoral detail of the subject....

www.standrews.info/knockers

screenshot

I have never come across a more detailed site of the minutia of the streetscape and little architectural features of a town. As well as knockers, there's manholes, beeboles, skewputts etc etc...Golf barely gets a mention!"

screenshot

Plenty to see if your eyes are open!

Regards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

Here's my potd, I have a cherry tree that got out of hand so I bought an electric chain saw from Screwfix and had a mad hour with it on Friday.. what a good tool for under fifty quid, the tree guys wanted £198 to cut this tree back.

[CitroJim]

I love how one subject leads onto anbother on here I post a slightly naughty picture and that leads onto another kind of knockers

I ran the MK Winter Warmer 10K today in stunning spring weather It was almost too hot!

Running home I passed the Peace Pagoda by Willen Lake and saw this

Own Work

Own Work

Spring is here - for now

I enjoyed a brilliant run too. Any chance of a PB was spoilt by needing an impromptu 'pit-stop' during the run Still a great time though and I'm happy

Own Work

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

seems like one heck of an average speed to me Jim, while I must mention I know marginally more about running than I do brain surgery.

Yes, still got the Tripod Neil (that very same one). Photography's taking a bit of a back seat at the mo while I'm up to my eyes in other things, but will get back to it.... one day!

Has anyone else noticed what appears to be a new style of London Hackney? Bizarrely, in a world where vehicles are getting larger, the London Taxi seems to have got smaller (me thinks its either Hybrid or Leccy powered). This one's pictured on the A400 near Baker St, just past an MG Dealership and a most bizarre structure on the wall at the front of Westminster Mag's Ct. (we were on a bunfight to Mme Tussauds, free with the Sun).... styling seems to be 'typically modern' let us say.

[CitroJim]

seems like one heck of an average speed to me Jim, while I must mention I know marginally more about running than I do brain surgery.

It's a fair pace for one such as I and works out at around 8 minutes 45 seconds per mile... So, around 6.5 mph (ish) Runners never speak of speed in mph but in time per mile or time per Km...

Has anyone else noticed what appears to be a new style of London Hackney? Bizarrely, in a world where vehicles are getting larger, the London Taxi seems to have got smaller (me thinks its either Hybrid or Leccy powered). This one's pictured on the A400 near Baker St, just past an MG Dealership and a most bizarre structure on the wall at the front of Westminster Mag's Ct. (we were on a bunfight to Mme Tussauds, free with the Sun).... styling seems to be 'typically modern' let us say.

Yes, again where 'modern' styling equates to rather ugly and horrible Those lights look particularly awful!

I believe they are hybrids as i heard a piece on the wireless the other day that I understood to be saying that all London Taxis must now be electric or hybrid... Don't take that as gospel as I'm not the sharpest too in the box for fully understanding things nowadays...

[bobins]

Spotted whilst out on a walk today in the countryside around here - a good old fashioned ford

Stedham ford - own work

And also on the walk - a post box made at Machan Engineering, Scotland, who are sadly no longer with us
There was an article on the BBC website about their fears for the future back in 2013....
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... s-25015280

Sadly they succumbed in 2015 when their orders from the Post Office fell away:
"THE Scots firm who made Britain’s iconic red ­postboxes have had to close after losing orders from the Royal Mail.

Machan Engineering were the only foundry in the UK to make the traditional cast-iron pillar boxes.

The company had supplied Royal Mail since the 1980s and used to get 150 orders a year. But in 2014, they only received 20 orders and this year they had just one."
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scot ... ng-6568736

Stedham post box - own work

[NewcastleFalcon]

I like that Bobins....The makers of the PO Box I photographed Lion Foundry Company at Kirkintilloch also closed in 1984. Graces guide as always has a bit of interesting history on the firm.

https://gracesguide.co.uk/Lion_Foundry

They had a few strings to their bow, from pipes and gutters and sanitary ware, to fire escapes, and structural ironwork for the likes of the County Arcade in Leeds and the New Conway Bridge.

and further afield the Great Southern Railway in Buenos Aires has this example of the Lion Foundry's work



REgards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Class 139.....but whats unusual about it?


Parry People Mover 139 002 leaving Stourbridge Town Railway Station - geograph.org.uk - 1376879
P L Chadwick / Parry People Mover 139 002 leaving Stourbridge Town Railway Station, via Wikimedia Commons

Regards Neil

[Peter.N.]

Spotted whilst out on a walk today in the countryside around here - a good old fashioned ford

Stedham ford .jpg

And also on the walk - a post box made at Machan Engineering, Scotland, who are sadly no longer with us
There was an article on the BBC website about their fears for the future back in 2013....
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... s-25015280

Sadly they succumbed in 2015 when their orders from the Post Office fell away:
"THE Scots firm who made Britain’s iconic red ­postboxes have had to close after losing orders from the Royal Mail.

Machan Engineering were the only foundry in the UK to make the traditional cast-iron pillar boxes.

The company had supplied Royal Mail since the 1980s and used to get 150 orders a year. But in 2014, they only received 20 orders and this year they had just one."
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scot ... ng-6568736


Stedham P-box.jpg

That's nice. Does anyone know the one at Eynsford?

Peter

[white exec]

That cute little 139 looks as if it has borrowed parts from a Fiat Multipla.
Just looked up the details on Wikipedia - fascinating: a quite unexpected motive power!