Tuesday 24 November 2015

Coca Cola truck comes to Silverburn

Glasgow once again had a visit from the big red Coca Cola truck.

Unlike last year's visit to the city centre, this year it came to the Silverburn Shopping Centre.

People crowded round it and queued up to have their pictures taken.


Eventually the time came for the truck to leave, on its way to another busy location for hundreds more avid fans to get up close to it..


Saturday 14 November 2015

Late Night Photographs

As a mark of respect for the victims of the attacks in Paris, buildings throughout Britain have been lit up in the colours of the French national flag.

Unsure of how long this would last, we took a near midnight trip, firstly to Clydebank and then to Glasgow.

The rain tried its hardest to spoil our photographs but our spirits were not dampened by the weather.

Clydebank's titan crane
SSE Hydro
After returning to Greenock we waited at the waterfront for the demolition of Hawick Court, the last of seven high flats in Greenock.

This was expected to take place around 2am, however we spent a further 2 hours eagerly waiting the warning siren to tell us that the blowdown was imminent.

All this time mother nature continued to pour down on us making our wait a rather unpleasant affair.

To avoid getting the camera gear soaked we sat in the car and shot hand held, resting the camera on the open window of the car.


Saturday 7 November 2015

Inverclyde Council Fireworks Display

My first visit to the Council's fireworks display in a few years and it didn't feel like a typical November night.

The weather felt decidedly warmer, drier and calmer than many past displays I have been to.

Using the recent James Bond film, Spectre, as a theme for the show, there were a large proportion of white fireworks in the display.

Overall, I was pleased with the event.


Thursday 5 November 2015

Glasgow Airport

Plane spotting on a dull rainy day isn't always fun.

However a report that two RAF Typhoon jets were parked overnight and due to fly out again in the morning brought me up to Glasgow Airport for their departure.

After they left I went to the end of Runway 23 to watch some commercials arriving.


Sunday 25 October 2015

Bo'ness Steam Gala

October started with a visit to see 60009 on the borders railway, and ended with a visit to Bo'ness Heritage Railway for their Autumn Steam Gala.

Along with the resident locos we were hoping to see Ian Riley's Black 5, 44871 and a special visitor from Furness.

The day did not disappoint with 44871 hauling along with 62712 Morayshire, which is due to go out of service for overhaul.

The star of the day was No 20, a beautiful 0-4-0 tender engine built in 1863.No 20 is Britain's oldest working standard gauge steam loco.


Thursday 8 October 2015

Borders Railway

After many years of campaigning and hard work, the Borders railway line has reopened from Edinburgh to Tweedbank, reversing Dr Beeching's closure of the line in the 60's.

Work began on the 31 mile route in 2010 and opened for the first public train journey last month.

A4 class steam loco Union of South Africa has been creating a lot of interest in the railway and providing a welcome influx of visitors to the area. The steam tours are due to stop on 18th October.

Hopefully a deal can be reached to resume steam on the line next year.


Tuesday 29 September 2015

Sunset from Portencross

September has probably been the best month for weather here in Scotland with more dry and sunny days than we had during summer.

With the prospect of good weather all week I took a trip to Portencross in the hope of seeing a colourful sunset.

There was just enough light cloud in the sky to add colour and texture once the sun had gone down.


Thursday 27 August 2015

Edinburgh at Night

After walking around the Royal Mile all afternoon enjoying the atmosphere of the Fringe, we decided to head for Calton Hill to look down on the city as day turned to night.

The city has a very different feel after dark and from my viewpoint I could see along Princes Street and across to the castle.

The evening finished with a fireworks display from Edinburgh Castle as part of the Tattoo presentation.

Princes Street and Balmoral Hotel's clock tower
Edinburgh Castle
Fireworks display
Fireworks