All tied up – The two Steam Packet Vessels (The Flag Ship Ben My Chree and the Fast craft Manannan) seen here tied up in Douglas Harbour and unable to sail today (12th September 2011) because of the severe weather conditions in the Irish Sea due to the tail end of hurricane Katia. The forecast today has given possible further disruptions for the next day or so also! The image was captured on my Nikon D80 SLR with a Nikon 18-135 F3.5/5.6 G AFS DX lens at 58mm and cropped in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Click on the image for a larger view!
Nobles Hospital – Air Ambulance (MGP 2011)
During TT and MGP fortnight this Twin Squirrel Helicopter Registration No G-BPRI can be seen flying around the Isle of Man when the roads are closed for racing. I captured these pictures the other day whilst the civilian emergency aircraft was on standby duties at one of the three heli-pads at Nobles Isle of Man Hospital. Both images were taken on my compact Nikon S3000 digital camera and cropped in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Click on either images for a larger view!
Steve Hislop Memorial – Hague Crescent Onchan
1962 – 2003 – This bronze statue of the late TT and superbike legend Steve (Hizzy) Hislop stands proudly overlooking Douglas Bay from his late hometown of Onchan. The memorial was unveiled by Geoff Duke OBE in June 2005. The image was captured on my Nikon D80 SLR with a Nikon 18-135 F3.5/5.6 G AFS DX lens at 22mm and cropped in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Click on the image for a larger view!
“The British” – North Quay in Douglas
I have always admired the architecture of this lovely “Old Douglas” building which was opened in 1898. The building was designed by an architect called Armitage Rigby who also designed several houses at Little Switzerland and the cross shelters at Maughold and Kirk Michael (and other buildings). The image was taken from South Quay and overlooking the Douglas Marina towards “The British” and was captured on my Nikon D80 SLR with a Nikon 18-135 F3.5/5.6 G AFS DX lens at 38mm and cropped in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Click on the image for a larger view!
Pride of Mann 2 Leaving Douglas Marina
Captured the Sailing for the Disabled Yacht “Pride of Mann 2” leaving the Douglas Marina today, obviously she can only leave the inner Harbour whilst the South Quay lifting Bridge is raised. The image was taken on my Nikon D80 SLR with a Nikon 18-135 F3.5/5.6 G AFS DX lens at 22mm and cropped in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Click on the image for a larger view!
Fast Craft Manannan Entering Douglas Harbour
Whilst out for a walk today on South Quay we were lucky to spot the Steam Packets Fast Craft Manannan entering Douglas Harbour after returning from the port of Liverpool. The lighthouse to the right of the craft is the Battery Pier Light. The image was taken on my Nikon D80 SLR with a Nikon 18-135 F3.5/5.6 G AFS DX lens at 58mm and cropped in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Click on the image for a larger view!
Austin A35 on Peel Breakwater
Spotted this beautiful, pristine little Austin A35 on Peel Breakwater yesterday, I can only presume that the registration number reflects the year the car was first registered on the Isle of Man. Any ideas of a date of registration for this lovely classic car? The image was taken on my Nikon D80 SLR with a Nikon 18-135 F3.5/5.6 G AFS DX lens at 18mm and cropped in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Click on the image for a larger view!
Peel on a busy Sunday Afternoon
Standing on the footpath at the side of Peel Castle and looking over Fenella Beach towards a busy Peel Beach. The mountain centre left is Greeba Mountain and the hill to the right of the image is Slieau Whallian. The spire in the centre right of the image is St Germans Cathederal which is why Peel is classed as a City! The image was taken on my Nikon D80 SLR with a Nikon 18-135 F3.5/5.6 G AFS DX lens at 20mm and cropped in Adobe Photoshop CS5. Click on the image for a larger view!
Manannin’s Wife – Fand
Standing opposite the Manx Sea God Manannin at this years Mannifest at Glen Lough is his wife Fand, also known in Irish legend as The Pearl of Beauty. It’s all a bit mystical and mythical for me, but please feel free to enlighten all my readers if you can explain a little bit about what these statues are all about, please feel free to leave a comment. The second image I can only presume is a carving of the indigenous breed of a Manx Loaghtan Sheep, this hand built statue stands about 6 to 7 metres tall, and in similarity to Fand if you can enlighten us all please do so! Click on any of the images for a larger view.
The Giant Wizard – Manannin
There are three massive hand carved items at this years Mannifest, which is held in Glen Lough Farm which is just Douglas side of Glen Vine in Marown. These two images mark one of the massive hand carvings at the festival and depicts a Giant Wizard (Manannin) which is about 9 to 10 meters in height. I don’t really know much more about the artist/s that made this Wizard, if you know, please feel free to add the information to the comments section on this thread. I will over the weekend add the other two different carvings that are displayed at the festival. Click on any of the images for a larger view.
Bus Vannin
Right let me get one thing straight, I am not a Bus spotter 🙂 However whilst waiting in the lower Tesco car park on Sunday I noticed these three lovely buses lined up, the grey Mercedes buses have been the subject of quite a lot of press of late due to them being Mercedes and the cost of them and I believe the Department of Community Culture and Leisure have acquired 12 of them! The image was taken on my Nikon D80 SLR with a Nikon 18-135 F3.5/5.6 G AFS DX lens at 32mm and cropped in Adobe Photoshop CS5.
Southern Agricultural Show 30th July 2011
We went to the Southern Agricultural Show this afternoon, the sun was shining and it was absolutely jammed packed with people, stalls, animal exhibitions and kids rides and stuff. I have added nine images which will hopefully give you a feel for all the fun that was going on in Great Meadow, Castletown, which according to the news could be the last year it is held down there due to the lease expiring. One gripe for us is that all cars were chaperoned into a field opposite Great Meadow where there were literally thousands of cars, however when we came to leave the field it took us 1hr and 10mins to get onto the public highway due to the lack of any traffic management, there were some very unhappy motorists stuck in that field believe me! Image No 1 shows…