View From The Big Wheel

Photo copyright: Maggie May

When I went on the big wheel at Weston Super Mare last summer, there was a really good view of the pier where the pavilion had burnt down the previous year.

The sides have been extended to take a bigger building that has already started to be built, but this is how it looked last August.

I could see right across the Bristol Channel to Wales.

Watery Wednesday is hosted by 2sweetnsaxy.

Footnote: For those of you who are anxious to hear news of my biopsy..... I'm still waiting.

Strange Shapes

Photos are copyright of Maggie May.

Often on my travels I come across strangely shaped objects that seem to have an art form of their own. If I have my camera with me then I snap up the photos and I have already published one or two of these. I decided to make a post out of some of my favourite ones.

The top photo is of Weston Super Mare's Silica Tower. At night time it is brightly lit with lots of rings of bulbs, though I don't often get to see that, travelling mainly during day time.

This tangled wreck of metal was once the pavillion on Weston's Grand Pier that was completely burnt down along with a section of the pier, about a year ago. The metal has now been dismantled and the foundation looks completely flat with nothing on the Pier. The work on the New Pavillion is about to be started and will hopefully be finished next summer.

This is part of a new drainage system at Weston Super Mare. I just happened to like the design and shape of the grille.

Photos are in Bristol now and this is what greets you when you walk into Millenium Square. It is a fairly new sculpture known as The Spine and is the entrance to a car park. I like the shape so it is in the post!

Finally, Bristol Planetarium is this lovely silver globe. I have never been inside it but I think that the outside is quite spectacular.

I wonder which shape you like the best?

Construction On The Beach

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Weston Super Mare, such a grand name isn't it? However, if you went there right now you might be disappointed. Not only has the pier been burnt down, but the sea defenses are under new construction. Much of the town is low lying and during high tides, shops and homes are in danger of flooding.

For most of the summer there were cranes on the sea front and I took some great pictures of them. It was very interesting to watch these giants picking up large, heavy equipment.

There was a kind of beauty in all this heavy machinery and I was snapping away quite happily, much to the amusement of my long suffering husband. He ought not to be surprised by now that I always take my camera and a notebook and pen with me when ever I have a day out. There is usually some very good blog material on such a trip.

Don't you just love this crane and the rust tinged chain?

This photo reminds me of Little and Large! Remember the comedians?

When these alterations are completed by the end of the year, Weston will be a great place to visit. The pier will take a little while longer to rebuild but there are plans for a really good building to replace the old one.

It is amazing when we go back after a long time and see the way that the work is coming on and what seems like pointless digging and heaving about, suddenly becomes part of a new structure that looks really good. While visiting we have stood for ages just watching all the men at work. This seemed more interesting than anything else, at the time.

Can't wait for it all to be finished. I dare say I will be posting photos...........

Photostory Friday is hosted by Cicely and MamaGeek.

Strange Haunting Beauty?

Is there a strange, haunting beauty in the burnt out tangled mass of metal, that is all that remains of Weston Super Mare's Pavillion? The remnants of a white building, packed with rides and all the usual things that attracted thousands of people to walk down the pier and spend their money?

We recently visited Weston and walked down the pier until we got to the barriers that stopped us from walking any further, where the twisted metal stands and the big hole in the pier planks look straight down into the murky sea below.

It was a sad sight when we first got there. No one knows quite what happened or how the fire started during the early hours of one Monday morning. At least I think it was a Monday. The whole of England must have seen it on the news. Flames and black smoke shooting up into the sky and seen for miles around.

The town seems as busy as it has ever been, despite the gloomy forecast that Weston would be finished after the fire, as no one would come if the pavillion was not there. Well I don't believe that for a minute!

Here we were, seeing it for our selves. A strange, sad feeling wafting over all who had come to pay their respects.

One day it will rise again. No doubt looking even better than it was before.