Renard's Chronicles

Renard has a couple of blogs, he is currently posting more on his Blogger one than his Wordpress, and recently he posted about the way the blog - or WebLog - has evolved. Take a look HERE to read his post. When I first posted a blog all the way back in August, 2004, I had to use HTML code to link to a friend's blog, and there was no way to add images. 

You could alter the way your blog looked, by changing the colour of the background and could change the font by making it Bold, Italic, Underlined or a mixture of all three. Now, you can have photos, increase the size of the font, use different fonts, include videos, links, tables, columns, rows, and so much more. 

This was my very first post:

If you haven't started on your own blog yet, do it soon. It is a great way to store your memories as well. I was looking back on some of my posts and there was things there I had forgotten about. Some that I wish I hadn't remembered as well haha. 

Photo of the Week 2015 - Week 38

There were so many photos this week, but the majority of the ones I could use, are the ones I used for the Daily Challenge - those that I didn't pick from earlier photos that is. When I was looking out the window, I noticed the moon, so I figured a daytime moon fragment would be a cool shot for the photo of the week.

Photo of the Week 2015
Week 38

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 18 - Roof

This photo was taken in 2013 when I took my kids to London in August for a "River and Eye" trip. It was a combined London Eye and River Thames trip. It was a great day, and the kids really enjoyed themselves. They really enjoyed the mimes as well, the people who dressed as statues, not the silly ones who get stuck in glass boxes and you just want to punt them across the room screaming "THERE'S NOTHING THERE!" Anyway, as we went down the Thames, we saw The Globe Theatre which is a reconstruction of the one that Shakespeare used to frequent. The original burnt down as a result of a poorly placed torch. With a thatched roof, I think you have to be extremely careful where you place it. It is the thatch that drew me to using this photo for the challenge of "Roof"

September 18
Roof

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 17 - Reptile

When I stayed at a friend's house in 2013, her youngest son brought one of his pets out, it was a gecko. So of course, I couldn't resist taking shots of it, after all, I rarely get that close to a reptile. I was going to look to see if I had an crocodile that I photographed in the London Aquarium last year, but I thought this looked cuter.

September 17
Reptile

Sunday Photo Fiction - The Return

It has been a long time since I have done some Photo Fiction, but I was just drifting off to sleep the other night and this story just jumped at me, so I had to write it down.

Sunday Photo Fiction is a weekly photo fiction challenge where you make up a story with approximately 200 words using the photo provided. If you want to have a go, the challenge runs from 4am GMT Sunday to 4am GMT the following Sunday. You can find the link by clicking on the image.

THE RETURN

In the old curios shop, Greg picked up a small, green gem and turned it over in his right hand, rolling it with the index finger of his left hand. The shopkeeper smiled at him and said “It is a return gem”. At Greg’s frown, he chuckled. “Apparently it is a lifesaver, it can return someone to life, presumably by holding their essence inside it.” Upon querying the price, of which the old man informed him he would let it go for thirty pounds. Greg bartered him down to twenty, and left with it in his inside jacket pocket.

“You brought WHAT??” his wife, Vikki, screamed at him. “Of all the stupid things for you to buy. Leave. Now! I have had it with your stupidity, your childishness, and your pathetic excuse for being a human being. I knew I should have married your brother, he’s better in bed than you anyway!” Greg stood there stunned. He always wondered about the way she looked at his brother. In a daze, he opened the front door and stopped. He turned to look at her, and saw only hate and loathing in her eyes. “GET OUT!” she screamed and picked the closest thing to her, a saucepan with boiling water, and threw it at him. He ducked and staggered out the door, falling off the path as he stumbled. He didn’t see the big rig, but he felt it. Briefly.

*** **** *** **** ***

“It’s a return gem”. He chuckled at Greg’s frown. “Apparently it’s a ...”

“I’ll take it, here’s the thirty pounds, and do you know a good divorce lawyer?”

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 16th - Garden

I don't have a garden, and the weather has been a grotty-snotty of a day, plus I may have over done it a bit over the last few days so haven't been able to get out. This photo is one that I took last year, and although it is not technically a garden, I love the way I managed to capture the blossom falling. It could be looked at as the Garden of Rest I suppose.

September 16
Garden

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 15 - Train

I took my daughter to the cinema in June to see Jurassic World for her birthday. I was hoping to be able to reach the train station over the last couple of days to take a photo of a train for this challenge, but I have been so snowed under, I wasn't able to, so this is the one from June.

September 16
Train

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 14 - Book

I know the subject of today is "Book", but I didn't want to use a proper book as I have used them before. Malazan books, Eregon books, horror books, Star Wars books. So I went for something that is book shaped and book designed, but is not actually a book. This is a box for my Tarot cards that I was given by my sister a few years ago. 

September 14
Books

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 13 - Number

Numbers. We see them every day. Coins, bank notes, phone numbers, temperatures, remote controls, TVs, house numbers, some street names, watches. Numbers are everywhere. So what do you take a photo of when the subject is numbers? After some deliberation, the thought was to take a photo of the thing you take a photo with as it has a model number. The Nikon D3000. This was taken with my phone.

September 13
Number

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 12 - Plant Pot

I have several plant pots, but unfortunately, none of them have plants in them any longer. I decided to go for an old Bamboo plant pot that I have. I want to get some more of it as I managed to keep it alive for quite some time before it finally gave in. 

September 12
Plant Pot

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 11 - Arch (Wheel Arch)

After trying to find a car to use for the previous challenge, I couldn't believe that this came along the next day (yesterday). Being in the UK we don't see these style police cars, so I decided to use the wheel arch as the "Arch" subject. 

September 11
Arch (Wheel Arch)

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 10 - Car

I went through a lot of different photos before choosing this one. There were Rolls Royce, Bentley, Old cars, new cars, weird cars, armoured cars. In the end I decided to go for an action shot from Lydden Race Track in 2014. Seeing this car go up like that, it was like everybody's heart missed a beat at the same time. He brought it back down onto four wheels again though. It was an awesome day. 

September 10
Car

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 09 - Food

I wanted to do something different with the food subject this time. I wanted to go for a more comical side to it, so armed with two satsumas, an apple and a banana, I gave food a smile with four of its five a day.

September 09
Food

Photo of the Week 2015 - Week 37

With it being the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain this year, and August / September being the months that it was fought in, there have been several air displays to commemorate it. One plane that they always use is the Supermarine Spitfire as that was one of the planes used in the Second World War. I am lucky to be in the flight path of where they come from and where they head to for some of their displays. They also sometimes do a quick show over this area as it is where the cruise ships dock. I think this plane is by far one of the most beautiful pieces of engineering ever made. It is just a shame what it was used for. 

Photo of the Week 2015
Week 37

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 08 - Pet

I only have two pets so when it comes to animals or pets, I am limited to what I can do at home. Sometimes though, the animals sit or lay in such a way that makes them stand out. Sully did that on the rear balcony, so of course, I had to take a photo of him and use that.

September 08
Pet

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 07 - Hat

Near where I live, a whole area has been demolished to make the town look more presentable. We are the entrance to the country via the port so it needs to send a message, rather than "Welcome to the Garden of England, you are currently in the compost heap". As they were digging up an area, they found some older ruins and so an Archaeology team has been in there. They found a 17^th century well and a 12^th century house. So I figured it was only fair to use the hard hats as the subject of this challenge.

September 07
Hat

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 06 - Church

There are several churches around this area with character. There is the one that I photograph the most, or rather the remains of the one I photograph the most, which is just part of a wall here and there. I decided against using that one though as I used it a week or so ago. 

This church was burned several years ago, and has passed through several hands with the intention to renovate it back to a church or to change it to a residential site. Nothing has come through with it at the moment so it remains a burnt out shell.

September 06
Church

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 05 - Red

As soon as I saw the title for this one, I knew I was going to use a dragon as I have so many red dragons. It was then a choice of which one. I decided on one that I brought in 1991. It cost me £95 back then, and even now I don't think I would pay that price for a dragon. The smaller one is sitting on an egg which lights up when you switch it on.

September 05
Red

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 04 - Bridge

I decided to go with something different on the subject of Bridge. Rather than the norm of something you go over or under, I went for the bridge of a ferry.

September 04
Bridge

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 03 - Tracks

I was hoping that maybe a tank would go past for this subject, or maybe even a JCB. What I decided on though, was a photo I took last year at Lydden Race Track when I took my son to celebrate his eighteenth birthday. He loves cars, and he enjoyed this day out so much. He said it was one of the memories he would cherish forever. Hard to believe it is well over a year since we went.

September 03
Tracks

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 02 - Statue

In the town where I live, some of the buildings are over 200 years old - one is over 1800 years old, but that is a post for another time. The way they were built said a lot about the architects. People don't tend to look up. They see what is at ground level. If you look up, you can see so much that was created in these structures. Like these statues of owls. They are on the very tops of buildings where you wouldn't normally see them, but it doesn't stop them from having a lot of detail in them.

September 02
Statue

September Daily Photo Challenge - September 01 - Wheel

There is a small hotel near me, more a Bed & Breakfast, and the logo is actually a scale model of one of the first bikes. It always makes me wonder how people used to be able ride these. The name of the building is The Penny Farthing

September 01
Wheel

Photo of the Week 2015 - Week 36

I couldn't believe this shot. I was taking photos of some lorries going past and the spray they were creating when going through puddles, and suddenly this bird comes in. I spun and managed to score a great shot on it just it came in to land. I am impressed with the way this turned out. 

Photo of the Week 2015
Week 36

Photo of the Week 2015 - Week 35

This was the last photo of the Week in August, and I chose this one because of the way the clouds looked. The way nature shows itself can be both menacing and beautiful at the same time.

Photo of the Week 2015
Week 35

Photo of the Week 2015 - Week 34

I went to a pier that I can see from my balcony with my kids for a day out. It's not an easy walk for me, but it is one I am willing to do on occasion as the views can be spectacular. Last week there was a "tall ship" in called the Götheborg and it allowed visitors on board, so naturally I went with my camera. The photos with that will follow in the next couple of days. This photo was taken before that though, and is of the lighthouse from the breakwater across from the Prince of Wales Pier.

Photo of the Week 2015
Week 34

Photo of the Week 2015 - Week 33

Near where I live, a new cinema is being built to try and breathe some life back into the town. We are the first place you see when you enter the country from France by boat and if all you see is eyesores and broken buildings, you are not going to want to stay there. 

Whilst removing some of the land, an are was uncovered that one of the local Archaeological Societies managed to get their grubby mitts on. There was a house from the thirteenth century and this well from the seventeenth century. The well is 6-10 metres deep. They wouldn't allow me to get closer due to health and safety.

Photo of the Week 2015
Week 33 [17th century Well]

Photo of the Week 2015 - Week 32

Very late with posting these. I have been writing and that has been taking a great deal of my time again. It's one of the reasons I took a hiatus from blogging at the beginning of the year. I am trying to keep up though. 

This photo was a thistle that I saw in passing. You don't see them often in the town. 

Photo of the Week 2015
Week 32