Upper class cat

Some of these pictures, though not the one above, have been seen before on this blog but it was in the dim and distant past.  Bertie is now 7 years old but he still maintains his position at the head of the household, always making sure he has the upper hand.

He's definitely above politics, unless of course it happens to be the upper house...

But he's not above trying to make his escape through an upper window.

What, me?

This is a two-in-one post for the two Photo Hunts. 

A view

I've so often shown the view from my own window, out over the sea to France, that I'm becoming bored with it.  So I thought I'd show the view from the place where my parents used to live.  It's a view over the sea again, but across the cliff top.

This is the view my parents used to be able to see from their window when they lived here.  Today the sky was blue and daubed with white clouds.  The sea was daubed with shadows.  If you follow the road on down, or if you're more adventurous you can follow a steep pathway and steps, either way you eventually reach the beach at the foot of the cliffs. 

We went to visit today at low tide.  The bay is nice enough at high tide but much more interesting at low tide when the rocks are exposed.  If you look carefully you can see there has been quite a landslip of chalk onto the beach from the cliffs although most of the cliffs have green daubs of vegetation on them, holding them together.

The rocks themselves looked as though they had been daubed with brown and green paint where the seaweed grew.  I was disappointed to find the pools were fairly empty of interesting sea life.  I wasn't allowed go further out to explore by my son who clearly had memories of his last visit here and his escapades with his brother and cousins.  I heard some hair raising tales today.

A two-in-one post for the Photo Hunts. 

Knitted architecure

These themes seemed to be an impossible mission until I remembered my neighbour, the castle.

Not only is it a good example of the architecture used by the 16th century builders of henry VIII's fortifications, but it also has examples of the method used to strengthen the mortar between the stones, in many cases taken from religious houses destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries.  The builders used to insert flints into the mortar to make sure the stones were well knitted together.

When you consider that some of the stonework was taken from monasteries, (and you can still see the carvings on them) you could say not only were the stones physically knitted together but in a fairly loose way they are a knitting together of the religious with the secular.

But once I got the bit between my teeth, I realised that the whole town of Deal has various styles of architecture knitted together to make a unique whole, everything from the castles to the modern pier.

This view is taken down one of the streets leading from the seafront, showing 17th and 18th century houses looking towards the 1901 building, Lloyd Court.  This was first a school, then a retirement home, then a convalescent home, and now it's a block of flats.

The beautiful old buildings seem relatively content to look out over the much more modern pier (1957).

 

 

And these days, if you click to see the enlarged picture, the view includes wind turbines on the horizon.

Not only do we enjoy a great range of architecture but the community itself is knitted from many different groups: the locals (and you can't consider yourself local unless you were born here, not even after 30 years), the retired, the weekenders, and the DFLs (the Down-From-Londons).  The last group with their big city ways are looked on with a certain amount of amusement by the locals, but also with tolerance.

A two-in-one post for the Photo Hunts. 

Safe havens with touches of yellow

You would think this yellow French letterbox would be a safe have for all your mail, but at times it isn't so safe.  I took the photo because it's an old style of letterbox, one you don't see around as often these days, but later I read the black label above it.  It marks the level of the flood on 5 October 1960.  There must have been some very soggy post that day.

Next a safe haven for swimmers on the Ramsgate beach.  That day nobody in their right minds would have been swimming but the lifeguards put out their yellow banner just the same.  A small group of hardy souls sitting on the sands made it worthwhile.

A real safe haven in Dover Eastern Docks where the kerbs and bollards are painted yellow.  The cross channel ferries follow each other out of the harbour entrance.

At the time of taking the photos that same harbour entrance was used for the cruise liners that dock at Western Docks.  The second entrance was being cleared enough to allow the cruise liners through.  During the war this western entrance had been blocked and though re-opened in 1963, needed more dredging to allow larger ships through.

The two liners to the left have the yellow funnels of Saga cruises.  The smaller one is, I think, the Spirit of Adventure which was chased by Somali pirates in 2011.

A two-in-one post for the Photo Hunts. 

Adding (a glimpse of me)

I thought I would return to photo hunting in the new year of 2013 - but not this week.  I didn't think I had anything to fit the themes.  I never include myself in photos but then I came across some that included a glimpse.

Some gardens and parks add art, presumably to enhance the view. Sometimes they do, and this sculpture I thought did fit in fairly well, at the Salutation Gardens. 

At times I'm guilty myself of trying to enhance nature and this sunset is one example of using an added boost of colour.  The original must have been good enough for me to have taken the picture but when I viewed it on the computer I did think it needed an extra something.

 

I am also guilty of adding a little glimpse of myself, most frequently shadow.  I can't think what I thought this would show but my excuse is that it was the hottest day of summer, the one hot day of last summer (25 July) and it must have gone to my head.

On that same day I managed to produce what used to be a common occurrence, the finger across the lens.  It's almost impossible with my own camera but I must have decided to take my husband's camera that day.  It was a long walk in the sun and a smaller camera seemed sensible. 

 

In spite of all the artificial additions, I really prefer nature's own.  As far as I'm concerned, these wild flowers added more interest than any shadow or finger of mine.

A two-in-one post for the Photo Hunts. 

Sturdy houses, their doors and gates

I have a fascination for doorways and gates and as they are generally fairly sturdy and often lead into homes, I thought I could use some of the many photos I have taken over the years today.

This very sturdy gateway was once the entrance to the home of Maréchal Foch in 1913, from January until August.  Not long but long enough for a claim to fame.

This has seen better days, I think, and it's a shame about all the cables leading in and around the doorway.  It was once home to a lawyer, judging by the plaque by the door.

Still sturdy though definitely it has seen better days, this gate will soon lead to 12 new homes, apartments in the original building.  In fact, given that this picture was taken a couple of years ago, the homes are almost certainly already complete.

In some cases, the door looks sturdier than the home but in this case the building had been there a long time and is presumably propped up by its next door neighbours.

A two-in-one post for the Photo Hunts. 

Symbols of power

Medieval castles, five of them in this small town of Chauvigny, all symbols of power of a bygone age.

Chauvigny is situated on a high promontory over the River Vienne, the only medieval settlement of its kind in Europe, so the promotional literature says.  The five fortresses are grouped inside a single outer wall and overlooked by the belfry of St Peter's Church.

Left to right in the view above: Château Baronial, Château d'Harcourt, St Peter's Church, Château de Gouzon, The other two fortresses, Flins and Montléon don't show on this picture.  The tower of Flins is now a private residence while Montléon has all but disappeared by being incorporated into more recent buildings.

But as with many symbols of power, they have crumbled over time.

Taken over gradually by vegetation ...

 ... and other wildlife.

A two-in-one post for the Photo Hunts. 

Old and Loud

Although the cathedral in Albi dates back to 1287 it took 200 years to complete.  even still, it is far older than its organ which dates only from 1736.  Still old enough to qualify as old, I think.  You'll have to trust me that it can also be very loud when required, or watch and listen to this video.

You could also say that some of the patterns on the walls are loud.  they may look modern in their geometric design but they date from the 1500s.  If I had them in my living room I'd have a perpetual headache.  Here though, the effect is amazing.

My photos are not all they might be because, quite rightly, they don't allow any artificial light inside, and I'm not about to start carrying a tripod around with me. 

A two-in-one post for the Photo Hunts.