ABC - R - RAMSEY RUGBY

Help! Cannot sign into Mr Linky on ABC, My World Or Skywatch. Anyone else had this problem? Appreciate your help or thoughts on this one. Thanks in advance.


Ramsey Rugby. A strange game to some, only played by girls in others, or the best game in the world to many. What about you?


Ramsey are the ones in the blue shirts. I was going to upload the monochrome version, then I realised that would be no good if I said blue shirts in a black and white photo. Doh! Anyway it's Rugby Season. This was home game match( I am not allowed to mention the other team) and as you can see the lads were getting stuck in. The Rugby Pitch, Mooragh, runs alongside the Promenade. You can see the car in the background, right hand side along the promenade road. In other Rugby shots I've shown you the Mountain backdrop. I know I'm lucky. No hooligans here. It's a family sport.


This sport is a lot easier to take than the motorbikes. Another tip, know the rules of the game. This helps to take the money shot. The local paper will only take a few shots and disappear. You stay the game and you'll get the better shot. Again do not saturate the colours. The teams strip should be photographed as they wear it, not over egged.


Want to join ABC got the lovely hostess with the mostest, MRS NESBITT'S PLACE

POYLL DOOEY NATURE RESERVE

Poyll Dooey ABC

Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve is an area of land in Ramsey that is a haven for wildlife. It is also a haven for me as a photographer. You have seen this image above before, but not as a day shot, but one of my skywatch shots, where the skies are rich in purples and the trees are usually silhouetted. How different one place can look from day to night.

Poyll Dooey has a series of nature trails running through it. Follow the trails and you will happen upon many wonderful birds, rabbits, dragonflies, ladybirds... and dogs. It's a dog walkers heaven. Take a step off the nature trails and walkways and you will find yourself wading through overgrown scrub land, ponds, bogs, wild grasses and wild flowers such as bluebells and onto the meadows. Nestled amongst all of this is a picnic area in a beautifully maintained garden setting. walk to the far side of Poyll Dooey you happen upon the white bridge or wander a trail 'til you reach the Sulby River and follow it into Ramsey Town. In fact I have taken you round the Poyll Dooey many times, but usually down by the river. This is the meadow that lies in front of the white bridge.

Poyll Dooey, what does it mean though? Poyll means Pool that was the easy bit, but Dooey. First time around when I posted a Poyll Dooey post I asked if anyone had any ideas. Well I'll ask again. I've since found two meaning "sand dunes" or "fun gathering." Now as these two meaning differ greatly from each other I wonder if anyone else has another alternative.

By the way. The New American President will be making a guest appearance (of sorts) on this blog tomorrow. Obviously not in the flesh, but his er image will be.


Want to join ABC got the lovely hostess with the mostest, MRS NESBITT'S PLACE

NEW WAVE - TALL SHIP IN RAMSEY HARBOUR

NEW WAVE
Babooshka

ABC - Letter N.

What is it though? It's a rare sight in Ramsey Harbour although these never used to be. So what is it. Well It's not the new Swimming pool you can see over on the right with the curving roof. No, It's actually the red and white Tall Ship you moored, called the "New Wave." I snapped this shot very quickly as I was literally running onto somehwere else, so a quick not thought out snap for a change.

This is actually a grand sight to see in the harbour, a real blast from the past because this is the very harbour that the STAR OF INDIA or the Euterpe as you may know it was built. Yes the one that has been loving restored and is berthed in San Diego. If you click on the words Star of India above it will take you to my post about it with an image of the commemorative plaque here in Ramsey. The Isle of Man has strong links with the sea, as do most islands. From the Bounty, The Jane, The Island Yacht Race to The Book the " English Passengers" we have had a wonderful variety of sailors and ships.

Speaking of books, how would you like to swap a book you no longer want for one you have always wanted to read, re read, or to try out out something new? Try this great new blog BOOK SWAPPERS . I know I'll be in on this.

I'm late tonight, and a little light on the visiting. I'm on a mission to curb someone's enthusiasm (to put it kindly) on mimicking my writing style and suggesting( now that is being polite) that this very blog, content and images be their very own. You poor deluded fool. I am onto you, thanks to copyscape and Google alerts. It's a small island I will find you. Game On!

Want to join ABC got the lovely hostess with the mostest, MRS NESBITT'S PLACE

MOORAGH PARK

ABC- M is for Mooragh Park.

Mooragh Park, contains Mooragh Lake was like Albert Tower, built by the Victorians. In 1881, the Ramsey Town Commissioners bought a 200 acre tidal swamp. The Land was purchased for 1,200 pounds( wonder what that would be now?) with the intent to build the site into a pleasure park. Six years later the site was opened to the public and included many of the sites it does today. Recent additions to the area have been the skateboard park and Ramsey Rugby Clubhouse. Ramsey home games are still played here. You know that though as I've shown you the images.

The park and lake have proved to be a great success for Ramsey, bringing visitors and tourists alike for canoeing, birdwatching, skateboarding or just to relax for lunch in one of the 2 cafes. Events are still held here such as varied music festivals, youth cycling tours and of course Ramsey Sprint(motorbikes along the promenade) during the TT Road Races. Of course you will also find this photographer up there. By the way this is the lake that I went for an unintentional swim in when my canoe capsized. It was so black I thought it was still a swamp. How I got back in the canoe fully clothed and sopping wet is still beyond me. Happy to report no sharks in the lake, but the financial sharks are lurking on dry land.


Want to join ABC got the lovely hostess with the mostest, MRS NESBITT'S PLACE

THEME DAY LINES AND ABC - KEEKAL AND KIBBINAGH

The October theme days is lines. and many cdp bloggers will be joining in. No doubt we will all interpret the genre in different ways, some lateral some abstract. It is also ABC Wednesday so again I have combined the two themes.

This is part of The Laxey Wheel, in Laxey of course, not Ramsey, which I have covered in previous posts, is the largest working water wheel in the world, built in 1854. This part of the wheel features many shapes, textures and interjecting rods of metal and wood creating for me several varied layered lines.

Two Manx words for you.

Keekal - means peeping
Kibbinagh - means spiked

The lines I thought were both spiked and peeping out from behind each layer. Many words begin with K in the Manx Language, but these suited the lines theme best.

To view thumbnails of other participants to the theme, view the CDPB portal

Try and visit someone you've never visited before. It's the ideal day to do it.

Want to join ABC got the lovely hostess with the mostest, MRS NESBITT'S PLACE

ISLE OF MAN TT

ABC WEDNESDAY - I
Isle Of Man TT

Well what else was I going to have for the letter this week. A no brainer really. Actually it came in quite handy as I am re sorting the images due to the publication of some fresh ones in Motoaction Magazine. Folks Remember, people read your blog and see your images. The ones in the mag, are ones from the blog, and remember my best bike images don't make the blog.

Here's what wiki has to say about the TT

The Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) Race is a motorcycle racing event held on the Isle of Man since 1907. The race is run in a time-trial format on public roads closed for racing by the provisions of an Act of Tynwald (the parliament of the Isle of Man). The first race was held on Tuesday 28 May 1907 and was called the International Auto-Cycle Tourist Trophy^[1]. The event was organised by the Auto-Cycle Club over 10 laps of the St. John's Short Course of 15 miles 1,470 yards for road-legal touring motor-cycles with exhaust silencers, saddles, pedals and mud-guards.

The winner of the single-cylinder class, and overall winner of the first event in 1907, was Charlie Collier riding a Matchless motor-cycle in a time of 4 hours, 8 minutes and 8 seconds at an average race speed of 38.21 mph. The winner of the twin-cylinder class was Rem Fowler riding a Peugeot engined Norton motorcycle in a time of 4 hours 21 minutes and 52 seconds at an average race speed of 36.21 mph.^[2]

The trophy presented to Charlie Collier as the winner of the 1907 Isle of Man TT Race, was donated by the Marquis de Mouzilly St. Mars.^[3] It featured a silver figurine of the Olympic God Mercury (The winged messenger of the gods) astride a winged wheel. The trophy was similar in design to the Montague Trophy presented to the winner of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy car race.^[4] The Marquis de Mouzilly St. Mars Trophy is now presented annually to the winner of the Isle of Man Senior TT Motor-Cycle Race.

The 2007 Isle of Man TT was the Centenary event which ran between 26th May and 8th June 2007 and featured a special Re-enactment of the 1907 Isle of Man TT Race^[5] was held on the village green next to Tynwald Hill in St. John's on Monday 28th May 2007.^[6] The vintage parade of 100 classic motor-cycles^[7] for the Centenary Re-enactment on the original St. John's Short Course was flagged away by former World Motor-Cycle Champion Geoff Duke.^[8] The first of the participants to be flagged away was the recently restored twin-cylinder Peugeot-Norton^[9] ridden by Rem Fowler during the first Isle of Man TT Race in 1907. Also participating in the 2007 Re-enactment was TT race competitor Guy Martin riding a 1938 Triumph Tiger 100 500cc^[10] and other former TT competitors included Alan Cathcart, Sammy Miller, Nick Jefferies and Mick Grant also completed the Re-enactment lap.[11

Again the image was taken, back alley Taubman St. looking onto the Swan pub. It's a low res watered down blog version. This image does require a decent camera, to handle the speed, low light, a telscopic/telephoto lens and a steady hand. So this is a real bog standard job photo, because that's me a photographer. It's a dirty job but someone has to do it!

Want to join ABC got the lovely hostess with the mostest, MRS NESBITT'S PLACE

RAMSEY HARBOUR

ABC WEDNESDAY - H IS FOR RAMSEY HARBOUR.

Last minute post. This is Ramsey Harbour, the working end as I call it. Not often you see it like this empty. Always boats moored obscuring the the view of the quayside. The solitary boat, serendipity and the buoy just bobbed into shot. A very dreary day so it went straight to monochrome. One thing about a grey day is you already have plenty of greyscale tones so they convert to B&W painlessly. Don't overdo the contrast. You end up with no shadow details and a harsh flat white. The colours tones should blend not fight each other.

What I like about this area and why I've tried to capture it boat free is it refers back to what I was saying the other day about dating a place by it's skyline not ground level. From the modern (well not that modern) flats to the mix of houses, pub and business premises in front you can see a timeline developing.

I've covered this in two posts before but Radio Caroline, Pirate radio station, was moored here and The Euterpe, or Star of India, tall ship was actually built here. A blog search will lead you to those posts.

It' a bit mad here at the moment. Gary has to do five drawing this week, instead of one. Can't go into details, but if you're in the UK, Sunday BBC1 Politics show. Watch or record. All I can say for now and no Gary will not be on it's the pics, but I can't say anymore.

Sad news today. Another British Pier has burnt down. What's really sad about this one is it's Fleetwood Pier, Gary's old hometown and where friends and relatives still live. Who said insurance job. The thought has occurred. Seems to be happening to a lot of properties in the UK
at the moment.

Want to join ABC got the lovely hostess with the mostest, MRS NESBITT'S PLACE