Weekend Reflections: Ring and Ride Bus

This weekend's reflections are in the windows of the Ring and Ride bus which brings us into town and drops us off in Clarendon Place each Saturday.

Ring & Ride provides a door-to-door accessible minibus service for people of all ages who find it difficult to use ordinary public transport. Until recently you could only book journeys the morning before and it often took a long time to get past the "engaged signal". Now you can book journeys up to a week in advance so, although it can still take a while to get through, the pressure to get through is not so great.

For more reflections visit Weekend Reflections.

Skywatch Friday: Squally Showers over Matley Moor

Looking over Newton towards Matley Moor.

For more skywatching visit Skywatch Friday.

Football on Croft Millennium Green

I was walking down Henry Street the other day and was rather surprised to discover that a football pitch had been built on the middle of the Croft Millennium Green.

It wasn't there when I was by it in March.

Only one more day left to vote for the Best of Hyde 2011. View the twelve contenders at Best of Hyde 2011 and vote for your favourite three photographs. Voting is very close this year so the winner has yet to be determined. Voting closes 12 noon GMT, Friday 30th December 2011.

ABC Wednesday: X is for Xmas Fete

The Xmas Fete featured here took place at the Central Methodist Church on Crook Street a few weeks ago.

Another photo from the fete can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

There are only a couple of days left to vote for the Best of Hyde 2011. View the twelve contenders at Best of Hyde 2011 and vote for your favourite three photographs. Voting closes 12 noon GMT, Friday 30th December 2011.

For more "X" posts visit ABC Wednesday.

Private Steps

It seems that a householder on Grosvenor Road has built a set of steps from behind their back garden down the former railway embankment onto the Trans Pennine Trail.

There are just a few days left to vote for Best of Hyde 2011. View the twelve contenders at Best of Hyde 2011 and vote for your favourite three photographs. Voting closes 12 noon GMT, Friday 30th December 2011.

Emirates plane over Foxholes on Christmas Day

I was walking down the Trans Pennine Trail shortly after midday on Christmas Day when this Emirates airline plane bound for Manchester flew over Foxholes.

There is a better view of the tree on Hyde DP Xtra.

Carols in Clarendon

While the Salvation Army were playing outside on the market, members of the Hyde Fellowship of Churches were leading carol singing inside the Clarendon Shopping Centre.

Photographs of the musicians can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

There are just a few days left to vote for Best of Hyde 2011. View the twelve contenders at Best of Hyde 2011 and vote for your favourite three photographs. Voting closes 12 noon GMT, Friday 30th December 2011.

Weekend Reflections: Sally Army Buskers

Many Saturdays you will find two members of the Salvation Army playing outside in the Market Place. The market stalls are reflected in the shop front behind them.

See how they looked in November 2006.

For more reflections visit Weekend Reflections.

A plane over Dowson Road

Planes regularly fly over the rooftops of Dowson Road.

Many of them are getting ready to land at Manchester Airport but this one is heading towards the North and gaining height so is probably on an outgoing flight.

See more skies at Skywatch Friday.

Hyde Town Hall Christmas Lights 2011

Yesterday I promised to show you the Town Hall all lit up for Christmas this year, so here it is.

ABC Wednesday: W is for Waiting

The folk here were waiting for the Christmas lights to be turned on back in November.

They were switched on by pantomime dame Bev Moss after the crowd had been entertained by Mossley Band and other performers.

Another photograph from that evening is on Hyde DP Xtra.

I'll show you the lights on the Town Hall tomorrow.

For more "W" posts visit ABC Wednesday.

Not so Jolly Carter

It isn't going to be a jolly Christmas at the Jolly Carter this year. The town centre pub was closed down several weeks ago and new tenants are presently being sought.

Entrance to Adamson Industrial Estate

Cross over Croft Street Bridge and you arrive at the entrance to the Adamson Industrial Estate.

Originally this was the Joseph Adamson Works dating back to 1885 when they were engineers and boiler-makers. Joseph's uncle Daniel Adamson was the founder of the Manchester Ship Canal.

By 1981 the site by the Peak Forest Canal was described as derelict and unlikely to find a future user but in fact, though the old chimney has gone, the warehouses remain and it is home to a number of small and larger businesses.

Snow on the Low

As I left Tameside hospital on Thursday morning after my operation it was snowing and by lunchtime the roofs of houses on Brooks Avenue were covered. By late afternoon the snow had turned to rain but in the distance by the Hare & Hounds on Werneth Low the ground was still covered in snow.

Equitable shadows and reflections

Formerly a warehouse for the Hyde Equitable Co-operative Society on Railway Street. The middle floors are occupied but the top floor offices and basement storage area are currently to let.

The tree in front not only throws its shadow across the brickwork but is also reflected in the windows of the building.

For a wider view of Railway Street please visit Hyde DP Xtra.

For more reflections please visit Weekend Reflections

For more shadows please visit Shadow Shot Sunday

Onward Once More

Another view of the Hyde Coat of Arms. The last one I showed you was on the Theatre Royal. This one is on the Town Hall.

[Post updated 11 am]

Following on from yesterday, I'd had nothing after 11.10pm on Wednesday and got a taxi to Tameside hospital for 8 am Thursday. I answered various questions and had blood taken but then lay on a trolley watching others who had not arrived until 10.30 am go down for surgery come back and go home until 5 pm when I was eventually taken down to theatre. I woke up back in the unit about 9pm and was shown a gall stone the size of a walnut. At midnight I was given some tea and toast. There were only three of us staying overnight but I had a drain in me which was uncomfortable so I rested but didn't sleep. I had more tea and toast at 4.30 am and at 6.30 am the drain was taken out and at 7.15 am I was sent home in a taxi, getting home just before it started snowing.

I discovered that a carer had give my wife her breakfast at 9.15 am yesterday but then nobody had been at lunch time. A carer had finally turned at 7.30 pm by which time Christine was hungry and shaking (possibly having a hypo). She was given four large sandwiches! Whether she took her correct medication I can't tell for sure. I'm glad to be home but am in quite some pain as yet - have been told to take it easy for the next three or four days by which time I should be feeling better.

Our freezer and fridge are nicely stocked and a neighbour is kindly getting us some more bread and cooked meat later so we should be OK till early next week.

Tameside Hospital

I expect to be in Tameside Hospital today having my gall-bladder removed.

I recounted the tale of my earlier hospital stay in Another Week, Another Hospital. I should have gone in two weeks ago but the operation was cancelled as a result of the industrial action the day before.

So the operation has been rescheduled for today. Nil by mouth from midnight Wednesday and be at the hospital for 8 a.m.

If all goes according to plan I should be home tomorrow.

See follow-up post Onward.

ABC Wednesday: V is for Voting

The time has come to vote for the best of Hyde DP 2011.

View the twelve contenders at Best of Hyde 2011 and vote for your favourite three photographs.

Voting closes 12 noon GMT, Friday 30th December 2011.

For more V posts visit ABC Wednesday.

Shops on John Kennedy Road

An off-licence and two takeaways on John Kennedy Road, Hattersley.

Hyde Market at night

This was taken last month while waiting for the Christmas lights to be turned on.

It won't look like this next year as there are plans for a complete revamp of the area.

More information on the work to be done can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

Sunday Bridges: A Green View of Croft Street Bridge

Crossing over the railway line from Rose Hill (Marple) to Piccadilly (Manchester) is the bridge on Croft Street.

This view of the bridge is taken from the back of Bowling Green Street.

Croft Street leads from Hyde town centre to the Adamson Industrial Estate based around a group of 19th century warehouses next to the Peak Forest canal. One of the warehouses can be seen behind the bridge.

The view of the railway line from the bridge can be seen on my 2nd December post on Hyde Daily Photo.

A street-side view of the bridge can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

The original photograph from which this image was created can seen on Geograph.

More Sunday bridges can be found at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

Weekend Reflections: Crown Decorators

Crown Decorators on the corner of Church Street and Oldham Street are a well-established business by which I mean they've been there for as long as I can remember.

Their windows are quite reflective so are this week's contribution to Weekend Reflections.

Skywatch Friday: Tesco Construction at Hattersley

Tesco are building a new superstore on land off Ashworth Lane, Hattersley.

See how it looked here three years ago.

If you google for information on "Tesco at Hattersley" you will find there is a division of opinion between those who view the development as a dominant commercial giant getting its own way again to the detriment of smaller retailers and nearby town centres and those who see it as an opportunity to create jobs and revitalise a run-down community.

For more sky photographs visit Skywatch Friday.

The price of Holly Wreaths on Hyde Market

Lots of people hang holly wreaths on their doors over Christmas. It is one of many pagan winter traditions that were incorporated into the Christian church. Check out the Christmas Holly for more information.

Holly wreaths were on sale last week by white-van man on Hyde Market for £3.95. I wonder what they would cost in other parts of the country or indeed other countries.

ABC Wednesday: U is for Union Street (looking East)

The tower block is Chartist House. On the left is Union Street Clinic.

For the view looking West see Hyde DP Xtra.

For more "U" posts visit ABC Wednesday.

Looking down on the Queens

Looking down over Clarendon Place from the empty level one of the multi-storey car park.

The Queens is an old coaching inn as the road was one of the main routes from North Derbyshire and South Yorkshire into Cheshire and Manchester. The entrance on the right (next to the Willow Wood Hospice shop) would originally have led to stabling. The six Queens on the inn sign represent the wives of Henry VIII.

More information about the pub and its connection with the Moors Murders and an old photograph can be found on the Hyde Cheshire blog.

Empty Car Park

Level 1 of the Clarendon Shopping Centre multi-storey car park. Until recently parking on the two upper levels of the car park was free. See my post back in April. Now it costs just as much to park here as on the ground so most of the time it is virtually empty. There were in fact just two cars parked just out of shot on the right near to the ticket machine and stairwell. I didn't look to see if any cars were parked on level 2 but the ground car park was fairly full. As a concession on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays you can park anywhere for free after 3pm by which time it is starting to get dark these days.

Shadow Shot Sunday: Waiting to go on

Another photograph from the switching on of the Christmas lights outside the Town Hall. Here the shadows belong to members of Mossley Band waiting to go on stage to perform.

For more shadows please visit Hey Harriet.

Weekend Reflections: Christmas Tree

Temperatures are falling but yesterday we erected the Christmas Tree and so our contribution to Weekend Reflections this week is a monochrome reflection of it through the front doors.

Skywatch Friday: From Croft Street Bridge

An autumn afternoon view from Croft Street bridge over the Rose Hill (Marple) to Piccadilly (Manchester) railway line. On the left hand side is one of the Adamson Warehouses. On the right hand side is the rear of Hyde Fire Station. Hyde Central Station is out of sight just around the corner.

See more skies on Skywatch Friday.

Bev Moss in Action

Bev Moss is the pantomime dame in the production of Dick Whittington that is touring Tameside this year. I caught the actor in action at the switching on of the Christmas lights outside Hyde Town Hall a few weeks ago.

I expected being "out of action" today as I was due to go in hospital at 8am to have my gall bladder out but owing to the Industrial Action yesterday my operation has been put back to December 15th.

"Action" is the CDPB theme today. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.