West Town Methodist Church

An old Wesleyan Chapel, and now a good, honest Methodist Church

The Other Side

Pretty much directly opposite yesterdays photo is this great looking house. It is directly on the main road between Bristol & Weston-super-Mare and the rest of Somerset so I wonder if it is something to do with transport?

Different Town, Same Colours

Similar to the plant on the side of the house near St James' Priory in Taunton.

It looks like the colours must have been tampered with in Photoshop, but this is the standard, untouched version. Who needs Photoshop with nature looking so vibrant eh!

Nailsea & Backwell Blog Day Trip!

Not Nailsea or Backwell but I spent last night in Taunton, about 40 miles south, for the carnival. Always slightly disturbing, there are some pretty strange people taking part in these events - but usually quite spectacular.
You have to feel sorry for the kids though - standing on a moving platform for about 2 hours in the freezing cold. Makes me shudder thinking about it!

GR

The second postbox to make it onto this blog.

This time it's older - see the vi between the G and the R? What does that mean?

The Throbbing Heart of Backwell

Well here it is!
The lifeblood, the financial heart of the village - I intend supporting Thresher fully...

You Could Not Make It Up!

The headline in the Bristol Evening Post tonight...

I have not had the pleasure of reading the paper but here is the story!

Weston-super-Mare even supplies the area with quality criminals, it really is a classy place.

Crispy Roast Scouts

Cremating marshmallows on the beach tonight.

I had not had dinner so I cooked a nice piece of lamb on the embers of the fire, very nice!

Spider on the Bus

Well almost!
Just a bus stop on the outskirts of Backwell.
I don't know which buses stop here, but the X1 doesn't!

Back to the Lake

A different night, just as the sun was leaving for the day!

Brockley Coombe Road

While I was still on Brockley Coombe Road I took a couple of shots of cars whizzing past.
It was such a dark night I couldn't see any of the detail shown by this long-ish exposure.

Just in case

The other night I was driving on a dark old road close to Bristol Airport when I passed this old style telephone box.
It was such a dark night but I thought I'd try and get a handheld shot despite the inevitable blurring.

I really wonder how often the phone is actually used, it really is in the middle of nowhere!

Urban Windfall

Not as ideal here in the shopping centre in Nailsea!

Still, I suppose the leaves improve the block paving.

Windfall

No shortage of apples around and about, as you might expect being in cider country.
My last blog, from Taunton, mentioned cider a lot - I have not been sampling as much lately, something I might have to put right soon...

Backwell Village

Had a little walk out on the footpaths leading from my house and found myself looking down over the village towards the rail station.
Some new houses here that are totally hidden from the main road.

Backwell Youth Football

I have been to watch Backwell United tonight but here is a shot from Sunday when all the youth teams were playing on the training pitches.

This is Portishead (black & white stripes) versus Backwell (green & goalie in orange).

The goalie has just punched the ball away after Portishead had banged it in from a corner. The goalie seemed to do well although when I left after 30 minutes or so they were already 2:0 down...

Never mind, it's only a game!!! ;)

Old Bird?

This Blackbird was sat eating berries quite nonchalantly.
I think, and I really am no bird expert, that he is quite old - maybe he just couldn't find the energy to fly away? I think he has some sort of Tick or other parasite on his throat?

Quality Work

A sign leading out of my street, through a street or two then up towards the A370. Astounded at the quality of engraving... Someone must have took literally MINUTES doing that!

Backwell Scouts

Quite jealous that they have their own HQ, my group meet in a school in Weston-super-Mare. It's not ideal - I am trying to get a HQ built but to be honest I have no experience of the fundraising & red tape avoidance something like this takes.

Incidentally Backwell was the stomping ground of Mark Rickard who it seems epitomises everything that I admire in scouting. I believe that I was a successful soldier due to my outdoor experience as a scout in the Peak District. Outdoor activities, for me, are what scouting is all about. It seems that Mark Rickard was of a similar mindset, and obviously made a deep and lasting impression on those around him. Good stuff.

That Sign

Gerald asked in an earlier post what the sign might be, luckily I had shot it but not used it yet.

Bike thieves, and worse vandals... Wind me up - I have lost a bike or two, I now have a rule that I never spend more than a £1000 on a bike - it's so difficult to insure them.

Backwell United or not....

Backwell United Football Club
I have always been one for supporting my local football club, when I was growing up in Hyde I was a regular at Ewan Fields home of the mighty Hyde United have a look at the website and see if you can spot why they (we) are still record holders... I played in goal at Ewan Fields in a charity match against local schoolkids, about 30 of them... Despite having a couple of Manchester United players, including Clayton Blackmore, on the team we still lost spectacularly!

When I moved to Germany I saw a few matches, some from Hannover 96, but the most memorable when a few of us sneaked off the tanks to watch Stuttgart Kickers playing away, and my memory fails me now, but I am sure it was FC Hessen Kassel. In any case Stuttgart being the away side got our support and we ended leaving the stadium with close to a police escort - supporting the away side in the home end was not a great idea - especially in uniform!

Later in Bristol I watched a few games at Mangotsfield United Football Club - who share their initials with my own side - the mighty Manchester United Football Club

Anyway, the whole point of this rambling - I had a chat to a bloke at Backwell United and asked what their normal attendance is (known as a gate) - I have to say I was surprised to hear that they are lucky to get 25... Thats 25 people - not hundred!

So, guess where I am going Tuesday night? Might as well make it 26 eh.

and as a test - any women manage to read this far down the blog? Free biscuits to any girl who has...

Stairway to Bristol

Stairway to the Bristol platform in any case.

Not taken a train from here yet, can hardly wait!

Back to the Bicycles

The bicycle shed at the station.
The legendary scene of fumblings and awakenings at school, though not for this all boy school attending blogger it wasn't.
It looks quite sad and deserted here though to be fair the commuters had long since gone home when I took this.

Main Line

Quite a poor photo, I have never tried to capture a train from quite so close before. I will go back out and try again soon.

This is the main line between Bristol & Exeter & onto Plymouth I guess from there. This is one of the tiny little trains that stops at every station between Bristol & Weston Super Mare.

Sign of the Times

Or a sign in Nailsea to be more accurate.

It's one of the very old type, thick cast iron with tiny reflectors built in. I ride in the direction of Clevedon on my daily commute. Wraxall is an interesting place, I shall have to post something of substance covering it soon.

Cows Week

I have no idea of the breed, I am a bit of a cattle ignoramus really. One day I'll feel the need to look up cattle breeds on a Wiki - until then; here's a pleasant photo of a pleasant cow.

It (he/she?) lives in a field 100m from my house, I cycle past 'it' twice daily so I stopped off to snap away.

Autumn Fruit

I haven't picked a single Blackberry this year - that's almost criminal. The amount of sweet fruit going to waste all over the country in woods and hedgerows - uncountable pie possibilities.

Next year......!

Haunted Bicycles

How many locks are still used and how many deserted? This was taken outside the train station.

The title of the post? That comes from me misunderstanding a lyric from a Smiths tune for many years, as a teenager in Manchester I could be found wandering the wet streets singing 'Haunted Bicycles' to myself - no idea why I thought the bicycles should be haunted. I just trusted the genius that is Morrisey to know what he was on about!

This Charming Man - The Smiths

Punctured bicycle
On a hillside desolate
Will nature make a man of me yet ?
When in this charming car
This charming man

Why pamper life's complexities
When the leather runs smooth
On the passenger seat ?

I would go out tonight
But I haven't got a stitch to wear
This man said "it's gruesome
That someone so handsome should care"

A jumped-up pantry boy
Who never knew his place
He said "return the rings"
He knows so much about these things
He knows so much about these things

I would go out tonight
But I haven't got a stitch to wear
This man said "it's gruesome
That someone so handsome should care"
Oh, la-la, la-la, la-la,
this charming man ...
Oh, da-da, da-da, da-da,
this charming man ...

A jumped-up pantry boy
Who never knew his place
He said "return the ring"
He knows so much about these things
He knows so much about these things
He knows so much about these things

Late Harvest

I drove past this harvester & tractor on my way back into the village tonight. Once I saw it I had to go back out and get a few photos, it was difficult as it was so dark and, annoyingly, the UV filter protecting my lens caused the green reflections from the lamps.
It is a cold night, the drivers must have been chilly, I certainly was.

Underpass

There's not much grimmer than concrete in the rain.

Stone & Brick seem to have a heart but unless it is done very, very, well concrete doesn't seem to have a life outside its cheap practicality.

This isn't done well...

An underpass under the main road in Nailsea, not somewhere I intend being too often, it hasn't even got any decent graffiti!

Backwell Lake

A hundred metres or so from the British Rail train station is this little lake. I went there on the way home from work tonight to try and catch the sun as it went down, caught this gull too.

Apparently the car park adjoining the lake is the place to go after dark for Dogging... but as I don't have any pets I'll be giving that a miss...

I had a walk around a few of the main shopping streets of Nailsea too, it looked quite depressing but then it was a grey night and the rain was falling. Just me, some charity canvassers and under age smokers prowling around.

The First Post

Ok, the first post - and in this case its the signpost for the little rail station that Nailsea & Backwell share. Just to make it equally inconvenient it is actually in neither village!

I am new here - fresh from Taunton Daily Photos so I am going to have to learn everything about my new home from scratch, should be fun...