Filey Follies

The Coble Landing from the beach at Filey is not named after the cobblestones which make up the path from the beach, but after the fishing cobles which are launched from here.

The park which overlooks the bay at the top of the town contains a few, interesting, random ornaments. The Filey Fisherman is in a flowerbed and refers to the town's seafaring heritage, whilst a Plesiosaurus commemerates the finding of a full skeleton of one of these creatures locally.
The East Coast is rich in fossils, and a giant model of the type that can often be found on the beach is also on display.

The world's first flight was completed by Yorkshireman George Cawley, nearly 50 years before the Wright brothers strapped an engine on and stole all the glory. The beach sands of Filey Bay, however, were used as an aerodrome for the newly powered aeroplanes in the early part of the last century, and an example of the early types of aircraft used is represented in model form on the Southern part of the promenade.

Whitby Abbey

Taken from the other side of the wall as I'm a cheapskate and wouldn't pay to go in.

Jelly Fest!!

I'm not sure what went on here.
We walked along the southern part of Filey Bay one evening and the sands were, as usual, wide, empty and clear.
24 hours later they were the scene of total jellyfish carnage!
In between times the sea had been a bit lively, with breaking waves, but couldn't really be described as 'rough'. However, the tide had deposited hundreds, probably even thousands, of dead jelly fish.
They came in many different sizes, but seemed to fall within three colour groups; purple, blue or red.

More Lifeboats!

Continuing the collection of Lifeboats, these are from Bridlington (complete with launching tractor) and Filey. The tractor has a registration as it has to cross the road to reach the slipway to the beach.
The Filey boat has the red hull paint which is used to protect those Lifeboats which are normally kept at anchor. As Filey has a Lifeboat House, this may be a temporary replacement boat whilst the usual craft is being serviced/repaired.

Flamborough & North Landing

Flamborough Lighthouse.
A 2 mile walk along the cliff top to North landing, which is a small bay that is used to launch fishing cobles. They are put to sea by a combination of a small bulldozer, slightly modified for the purpose and a collection of ropes, pullies and logs.
The Lifeboat House (and, therefore, Lifeboat) isn't open to the public at North landing, but it does have a rather splendid slipway into the sea.
The walk takes you past the Flamborough Head Golf Course which itself occupies the site of a WWII radar station (part of the Chain Home system). Some leftovers from the war years can still be seen in the form of a couple of pill boxes one overgrown and both concreted closed.

Stamford Bridge bridge!

We all know the story of 1066 & all that; William of Normandy and Harold's 'eyeful of arrow' which took place on 14th October of that year.
The warm up event, however, took place outside York some 300 miles to the north, a few weeks earlier, when an invading Viking army was defeated at Stamford Bridge. The village came later and was, rather obviously, named after the Main crossing point of the River Ouse.

This is a photo of that crossing!

Taken whilst leaning over the river edge and holding onto the branch of a tree...no idea who the people are on the riverbank but I suspect they were waiting for me to fall in.

Harold's army found it difficult to remove the Vikings from their dominant position and occupation of the strategic bridge.
So he sent some soldiers down the river in boats at night where they removed the enemy by sticking pikestaffs through wooden planks from under the bridge and setting fire to it.

He thus defeated the invading King Harald Hardraada (who, in the true spirit of sibling love, was supported by Harold's own brother, Tostig.....) on 25th September 1066.

This was after marching his army the length of Britain, so he must have been a bit dismayed to hear after the battle that Duke William of Normandy had just landed at Bexhill on the south coast and so he began the long walk back.

You Have Been Warned!!

A helpful sign for pedestrians on the Boulevard in Blackburn which indicates the correct path to take in order to reach Ewood Park.
It could, however, also be seen as a stark warning for Visiting supporters, who arrive by train, that they may meet the 'Blackburn Youth' hooligan firm around Ewood Park.
.....particularly if their train arrives in the mid 1980's.

Front of new phone!

I missed this photo from the previous set!!
I must admit that I wasn't totally convinced about the colour scheme at first. I think it has grown on me a little bit, but given a choice, I would prefer a darker/metallic look.
Other initial thoughts :
The white colour makes it appear to be cheap plastic. The rubber case doesn't fit very well and I think will become annoying over time. The touchscreen is too small for internet use, and the '2 finger pinch' doesn't create a very big zoom. In zoom mode, the text doesn't cut to the screen size, meaning I still have to scroll sideways.
Mobile internet pages, however, ARE rendered to fit the screen in full with no zoom option making them, for my old eyes, unreadable.
Also unreadable is the keyboard. In bright, or direct sunlight, the backlit keyboard turns the letters white so that texting is impossible in these conditions. (Rather cleverley, the letters turn dark when the blacklight dims).
It is probably more to do with my lack of prowess with touchscreens, but I tend to promote actions unintentionally. Wiping dust from the screen or changing grip whilst holding the phone causes windows to open, which is annoying.
So that seems a fairly poor phone, then.
But the good stuff is really good!
The keyboard is fantastic! Much better than on my old E71, which itself was, I thought, better than the Blackberries. Although small, the screen is a lot better resoloution, the text and images are sharp and clear.
The camera is really good. I'm from the 'point and click' school of photography, but the comparison between 3.2mp and 8mp can be seen in these pictures and, when I work out how to use it properly, will get better.
MP3 player works fine, and the 'shuffle' feature is easier to use than on the E71, with album art presented as a carousel on the touchscreen.
So far so good!

New Phone/Old Phone!

This is a bit of a camera test, with my old Nokia E71 being photographed by a new phone (which I am borrowing to see if I like), and then the new phone being photographed by the E71.
I am not convinced I can do 'touch screens' that easilly (fat fingers, no patience) so it i is good to have a try first before spending the money!

Scarborough Castle