An unSULLYed Man

New York sits at the confluence of three major bodies of water. Most noteably, for this tale is
the Hudson river.
On 15th January of this year an amazing incident took place.
An A 320 Airbus marked up in the livery of U.S.Airways made an emergency landing into the Hudson river.

Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was the pilot in charge with FO Jeffrey Skiles riding shotgun.
155 people were aboard the aircraft when, shortly after take off from La Guardia, the twin engines suffered birdstrikes in both sides. The plane had no chance of making the distance to any form of airstrip in the vicinity. Sullenberger quickly recognised that there was only one option to give them all a fighting chance. The Hudson river.

It was a scary sight for witnesses as well as for those going thro' the event on board.
2001 and the dropping of the twin towers isn't so far away. And now, another airliner is about to crash in New York.

Sullenberger calculated his rate of descent, the angle he needed to drop the plane in to the water with the tail entering first.
The Hudson river ferry captains were alerted along with all the usual 911ers.
The water was just 2 degrees above freezing.

Of the 155 people on board 155 survived. Those that did suffer injuries were fortunate to not suffer anything too serious.
Many called the good captain a hero. He, rightly, said he was only doing his job.
I agree. Less a hero and more an experienced pilot who used all that experience to carry out the most incredible heroic measures!

He was not the only person to bring about such a happy conclusion to a potentially horrific incident but he was the man in charge and on the spot at that time.
I salute all involved.
I salute Sully over and above.

Mad March.......snow!

Who says spring has arrived?
oh there it is... ain't that lovely?
I was out in Storm yesterday morning running into lunchtime.
I just decided to go for run and had the camerii with me. The roof was down and I was up.
How glorious. How beautiful. How sunny.

See....
And further shots were taken of similar. Blue skies, fluffy white clouds, the sun.
Lovely.
I got home.
And by mid afternoon things had changed - quite dramatically.


here is my rhubarb fighting it's way up. It's been poking it's nose up since mid January and it looks gorgeous and almost ready to eat but it's been thro' some varied weather conditions. Sun, rain, wind, freezing temps., snow.... the lot.
I can almost taste the crumble already

Later that evening before the sun dropped into the western horizon the snow had stopped and there were some lovely colours out there

And, despite sunset being in the west this is looking north-east!

- Cloud sits over the Teme with Stowe rising behind-

Britain - where the weather is the best talked-about topic in the land
Hell! and people wonder why.... tsk!!

Another time of day - at night

Tonight... i have my camera (this was last night but go with me)
So i will be taking some shots. We are on a break so we're parked up in a lay-by just south of Shrewsbury.
A few lengths back from two sleeping lorry drivers. Who are we to disturb the knights of the road. The garage sandwiches are nothing to write home about but they fill a hole along with the latte from the Coffee Nation machine.
Who would own up to creating such crap tasting cardboard?
we so need to learn from the french...pleeease!
It's good to stop and the air is mild so it's out of the motor to dump some rubbish and see what sights are there to be shot.
traffic.
We're in street-lighting which will affect the effect but let's have a look-see.

That's looking south. I lean against the sloping bonnet of the peril watching what's passing by. Whilst still sat in the cab i noticed that the traffic moved quite fast. Some eager to get past slower drivers. It's a whole other ballgame during daylight hours. More traffic less speed tho people still wanting to move quicker.
There's a freedom during the dark hours especially when it's dry.
Now, i'm leaning against a vehicle that stands out. It's lurid yellow with battenburg checks down the side plus the added lightbars etc. I am now stood holding the camera in front of my face pointing at the road.
I seriously reckon that people were not driving quite so quickly.
Now, as i said, our vehicle is yellow. A specific yellow that no other working motor can wear including the police but people are not quite as quick exiting or entering the 30 limit close to where we're parked.

Time to move on and watching traffic approaching may make for a shot or two.
Blurred but with light trails. A wagon is oncoming which gives an added dimension to the lights.
It allows me to stay awake. I couldn't get back to sleep meaning i've not slept enough so staying awake as much as possible has gotter be safer in case i ned to drive later. We're only just over halfway thro' the shift so i nede to be acreful. I may even need to refuse the keys if i think i'm gonna be unsafe. I don't wanna be contacting harshly with any static pieces of tall wood by the roadside - now do i?

Ahead another vehicle is marked as it spends times on the byways of the UK

It's a HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE vehicle which we follow into Craven Arms where he pulls over and we carry on our way.
I am grateful that we weren't needed later.

Coming to now part 3 of the Six Nations has kciked off. After just over half an hour and Wales has the edge over France in Paris in the Stade de France.3 -13
6 - 13 at 37 minutes and we're moving forward again
COME ON BOYS!!!!!...... it's a hard bruising game!
Oh dear... as we approach half-time the french touch-down.

What will the second half bring? It's hard to watch

With a spring in my step

.... and love in my heart.
Well okay, so i am rather fond of new babe, Storm but never mind.

The first official spring month will here by this time next week.
My rhubard has been peeping further and further over the growing grass since mid January.
No photo at this time.

-Snowdrops & Crocus -

There is a plethora of snowdrops and the crocuses are close behind.
The above were taken in the graveyard of St David's Whitton.
The crows, Rooks and Jackdaws in the main, were hanging around and nest-building.



,,
I took another run up to the Elan Valley only avoided the dams and went straight up the mountain road from Rhayader (CwmDeuddwr). this put me close to the source of the Elan and, more significantly, the Ystwyth. I stood in No Man's Land and took the above two pics. to show.
It's beautiful up there but i was quite surprised by the degree of traffic passing by.
I carried on down in to Cwm Ystwyth and by the time i got to Devil's Bridge i saw what could've been the reason. They are doing re-structuring works on the bridge and the road is closed. I did umm and ahh about returning via the mountain road but ended up trolling onward towards Aberystwyth. I didn't go in to town but cut thro' the trading estate and popped in to Halfords tho i was carrying very little money on me.
The journey back was, tho still beautiful, boring due to the pace. One can't really knock the wagons for taking care but some car drivers really do need a kick up the arse. And the weather didn't allow for going topless so i was cocooned with the lid in situ.

Long may Spring reign.
Three days of sunshine.
Chances to go topless.
Life is good

Storm on Penybont Common

Pictures can speak louder than words
I had a day off. Ooooer!
So - the weather was looking better so let's get out. Let's drive some. Let's take photographs.
Currently i am firing off the cylinders of an Fe 250 (compact) and a Camedia 200-UZ. Both OLYMPUS. And a proper bridge en route.
So - i headed, initially, up Llanshay Lane. ha! waste of time and energy. The road was impassable for my wee motor the higher up so i about-turned an returned to Ludlow Road. Hmmm! what next? Well how about i just head in a south-wester direction and see what happens.
The above pic was taken on the Common so i was heading in a Llan'dod direction.
And i kept going. Now i was on the A44 so that'll take me towards Rhayader. Perhaps i could spot some Red Kites (Milvus Milvus) in the area. There were very few about as i entered the town so i headed for Gigrin. It was very quiet and far too early for feeding so, let's go where i know there are shots to be had.
Hello the Elan valley with your dams, steep sides and glorious outlooks.

Jumping out to take photographs led me to a chat with a couple from Surrey on their winter hols. Atleast they were in the right type of vehicle. A Jeep Wrangler... and a beautiful white alsatian.

Above is the top dam. Craig Coch. And below is the roadway that crosses the dam to a small car park and toilets.
Up and down the valley are loads of trails. In better weather i must get myself up there and see what nature pops out in front of me ¬

The below scenery is taken from the valley's road looking across to the mountain road that leads to Aberystwyth (turn left) or back to Rhayader. That's where i was heading. The weather kept closing in and then lifting. It was beautiful but did leave me with a degree of apprehension especially as, once on the road back to Rhayader, i came across drifted snow and impacted snow on the road. Fun fun fun in a small motor without standard road tyres and no weight in the boot.
There were quite a few other vehicles about. Vans, cars, land rovers.

I made it safely on to the mounatin road with very limited car-bogganing, thank goodness.
The below is the view looking up the upper stage of the ElanValley which the mountain road follows in an Aberystwyth direction. The worst part of the road was still to come. Can car bogan uphill?
Well, a few slips and slides later and i reached the crest.
Now going down can be significantly more dangerous but the east facing side of the hill was cleared and safe.
A glance at the clock told me it was 14.15. ooh! The kites are fed at 14.00. I assumed that by the time i got down in to town there should be some kites left loitering. And i was right. i could see them wheeling about as i came in from the west.
I pulled over on East St and snapped a couple of pics. including one of a carrion crow. I moved to the industrial estate near the welsh crystal place and lay back on the bonnet on my motor trying to get some shots of some of the kites that wheeled overhead.
My last look i took from the lay-by just out of Rhayader on the rise. It was great watching them wheeling and screaming with a few interuptions by buzzards.


It was a good trip out and i returned Storm in one piece.
And allowed her to enjoy her speed a little on the 44.
She's filthy now and desperately in need of a good clean. The weather will dictate when she next gets a quick brush over... if nothing else.

Snowy Snowy Land

It's cold out there.

Britan is still under the white stuff in the main
and there could be more to come before it's all over.



Il Catto is not so keen on it's loveliness

This is more her thing.
Relaxed on the stairs in her crazy way ¬

On the other hand Storm beds in under her winter blanket

And.... being Six Nations opening weekend.....
Come on Wales!
Cymru Am Byth!

Let It Show Let It Show Let It Show

Community Centre

29-01-09

So this is what happens when you emerge from a shipwrecked sea

Yes! The words to the song are Let It Snow (x3) but this time, this year we caught the weather on the hop.
It was our turn to turn the tables. TEME SPIRITS performed a show and the weather did not screw it up!
So ner ner ner ner ner to Frosty the Snowman et al! Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Three great nights with three great audiences. Honours go to
Thursday night audience
Friday night cast
Saturday night tricksters and party-goers!

Big up to my mate, Fo, who took to a principle role and performed out of her skin
Well done, Queen Rat! Big thumbs up!

Queen Rat

A good time was had by all. I am still in recovery. haha!

So - we beat the weather and then it came! The whole country has had a dose which is, nowadays, unusual. Scotland, London, Wales, East Anglia, Cornwall, Hampshire, the Midlands,.... everywhere eventually.

my back garden a couple of nights ago

Hare's Green yesterday

the montgomeryshire - radnorshire border on Dolfor
yesterday

DOLFOR (Monty side) - yesterday
before we encountered a snow drift

As the country has a reprieve for a day some of us are bracing ourselves for another dose. It's due overnight so i could be waking to a whole fresh batch of the white stuff. Tomorrow is a day off work so should i go tobogganing in Storm? Hmmm! maybe not :D
But i have enjoyed bumbling about in Frosty's genes in a rear-wheel driven sports car.
Yehaaaaa!

There she is at work. A wee twitch around the corner quick
response, bring her back in line and sorted.
Shame Mondeo farmer couldn't bloody learn to drive as well.
Tsk!

- DICK WHITTINGTON -