PARLIAMENT STREET, RAMSEY. WANT TO BUY A SHOP?

Gary and I had some chores to do down Parliament Street. Gary hasn't ventured to the far side of the high street for awhile and was surprised at the amount of empty property, namely shops. I had kept him informed, but reality really hit home when he saw it, the vacant properties for himself.

This is one of many building along Parliament Street, Ramsey that is currently up for sale. Parliament Street is the main high street of Ramsey, where the majority of shops, pubs banks etc are. This is the top half. The underneath used to be a computer shop. It's been on the market now for quite a few months. As you can see this is what you would call "Prime Real Estate. " It's central for starters. Near the Post office, opposite cashpoints, the Police station etc. I mean this is prime for a flat conversion and retail outlet underneath. So any budding business types out there, forget Douglas, come to Ramsey. If you could make it an Italian restaurant that would be perfect. Failing that a decent Greengrocers full of local produce.

Today we counted 6 empty shops. More soon possibly. There is a meeting to be held to discuss the situation in Ramsey concerning the retail economy. I mentioned the shop situation before to the powers that be that may stop by the blog. I ask again. New hotels and apartments are a fabulous idea in theory. Without retail outlets for tourists and locals to shop, eat, bank in tourists will not check in those hotels, and residents will not reside in new apartments they can't afford as their shop job in Ramsey no longer exists to pay the mortgage. Don't let Ramsey go under with the current financial climate.

I was sheltering in the doorway of another empty shop to take this as it was raining, hence the grainy quality. Of course I totally planned the intense blackest of birds to fly into shot against the light building. Ok, it was our old friend serendipity again flying past. Not the cheeriest or wittiest of posts but I want my voice heard, and that of other Ramsey residents who echo my thoughts. Ramsey is in the process of regeneration, but the cash has to go into the right ventures for it to survive. If you're a resident who follows this blog please have your say, even anonymously. It's our town and we want, no need it to survive in order to flourish.

PARLIAMENT STREET RAMSEY

"Do you always have a camera with you?" asked many a person. The simple answer is mostly. Not always, but 90% of the time I would have to say I do. That means I often take images that were never meant to be . Unplanned random shots that just jump out at me and beg to be taken. Like this one last tonight along Parliament Street. Gary and I ordered and Chinese, waited for the taxi to take us home, camera came out. Needless to say we had also had a drinkies or several down the Swan prior to the Chinese. Photography, booze and 5 spare mins a heady mix. So who's for a lesson in night time photography?

Firstly lets explode a few myths. You don't need a tripod. It can be done hand held, even when inebriated. You don't have to have fancy pants light meters. You don't have to have camera hoods. It's all about the settings. The shot itself is easy. Enough white building to bounce/reflect light. The sky although darkening still has a little tinge of light. The only bugbear are the artificial lights. This is where people go wrong and get those nasty trails of blurry orange or white light instead of sharp chunks of glow. So firstly forget the auto. Switch to manual and fiddle around with your white balance (ISO) and the F. stops. Take 3 or 4 at different speeds until you eliminate the trails. So this one was ISO 400, F2, low light(slow) wide angled lens on full zoom and a drunken photographer, although that is optional. You keep the warm tones, see the lettering clearly and the feel of a nighttime shot without sacrificing detail or sharpness. If I can do it drunk then you can do it sober. I want results people!

Well busy weekend. Apparently a big rugby weekend coming up and I have to drag my sorry ass up the Mooragh to photograph it, plus go to the clubhouse later that evening to see what we think is a Ska band or a Ska/Punk band. Who cares it's live music, and I love a live band. Ramsey you see knows how to have fun once in a while. What are your plans?

RAMSEY, PARLIAMENT STREET

Still sorting through the images. Laborious but it has to be done. The Babooshka household is a mess again at the moment. Lightboxes(yes a real one), printers, scanners cluttering the floor. Then of course it's Gary's artwork. The political pile, the vector pile, the scanned pile, the prints,
the BBC pile, the .. oh you get the drift. It's like playing hopscotch on the living room floor. No clear path, like avoiding cracks in the pavement. Like the schools, the Politicians go back in the UK after summer and that means Gary has to have his satirical, biting, political cartoonist head on for the next BBC gallery he's about to start. So he won't be cooking my dinner for a while!

The image today is just a stock pic for another project. Ramsey Skylines. As you can see it's a jaunty angle and incomplete either side. There is a reason why it's like that. It all about aging a town. It's not the shop fronts you should look at but the skyline. Ground level can go through many incarnations, new windows, doors, paint, tiles, clading, but the top layer tends to remain the same. The topline architecture is what I need to concentrate on as this is where the building can be accurately assessed and aged. So you have two clear buildings and one, the left top corner, the hint of the next building. The angle allows the chimneys pots(weeds optional) and tiled sloped roof to be viewed. A straight on shot would flatten that part of the image, which for the project is the pivotal point. Not so glamorous now this photography lark is it? If it was all sunsets though I would be soooooooooo bored! Note the colours are left natural and the image not brightened. Project images like this have to be as seen.

Are you still awake? Who is that out there I can see nodded off? You mean you did not take notes. Tsk! Ok for being good boys and girls you can have nice skywatch shot tomorrow. The possibilities. Arty farty, black and white, dripping with sunest hues or thunderclouds. Who knows. I'm just not that organised this week.

RAMSEY AND A FIRST DAY AT SHCOOL TALE.

This isn't graffiti. It's a mural by the kids of the now defunct Albert Road Junior and Infants School. The kids are moving to a new shiny building. I'll have to photograph the old soon. This is right along Parliament Street. Maybe we have some budding artists in Ramsey? What you can see? Three iconic images of Ramsey.

On the left is Albert Tower. The centre image is Queens Pier. The right image is a tram. Show anyone on the island this and they would instantly say Ramsey. I've shown you the pier already. The trams have only just come back to town, and the Tower I will do when I can hike up there. Again the blue hoarding surrounds an empty shop that has been demolished. What will be there next who knows. I kept simple shot as you see, shadow and all.

This leads me on though to a question posted by DAVID MCMAHON, AUTHORBLOG . Can you remember your first day at school.? Oh yes I can.! A detour today into the childlike world of days before I became er, me.

Nervous a kitten clinging to my mother. Remembering the nice blonde kindly lady teacher gently but frimly coaxing me from my mother into the classroom and ushering mother out the door. Coat pegs. We all had a big black coat peg where my coat with my name written inside would be hung. Tiny chairs and tables. Being so proud I could write my name in thick black pencil and nervously holding it aloft for approval. Wondering why so many did not know how to write their own name. Frowning! Recognising Peter and Jane in the books of the same name. Smiling. Oh yes I liked this school thing.

Running round and round the playground. Eating strange bland food. Yuck! Two lots of food. pudding at lunchtime? No I don't like this school food thing. The sand pit. Oh how I loved the sandpit. Not the dolls house, the bikes,the numerous other wonderment of assorted educational toys, no not for me. Making new friends. Bullies! The boy who pushed everyone, who stole the toys. The boys who took my bucket off me. The boy whose legs I threw sand at for taking my bucket. The kindly blonde lady teacher, smelt like sweets. I told her he was naughty, she put him in the corner. I smiled. He was bad. He was punished! The good were rewarded. Oh yes I liked this school thing.

The bell. Big loud pulsating bell. Scrapping chairs. Scrambling for coats. Thanking the sweet smelling teacher with the generous smile. Spotting mom, running, talking, talking, talking. Tired. I can come back. Tomorrow! Oh yes I liked this school thing.

Written staccato like. After all It was long ago. Lengthy memories fade, but snapshots remain. It was heavenly, exciting, scary and fun. It was ordered, uncomplicated. Life is seldom like that now. The good and bad are neither punished or rewarded in equal measure. Life is not black and white now, but a muddy grey. People aren't so kindly, or sweet smelling. Strangers do not become instant friends. I still like a sandpit, it's why I've gone from city to beach. I still metaphorically throw sand at the bullies in life who pinch my proverbial bucket, but instead of a teacher now it's me who fights my battles. Welcome to the unordered, complicated, scary, fun, unfair world of adulthood. No wonder I'm nuts.