Royal Wedding Souvenirs.... mmmaybe not !!!

Today I'm linking with Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday which you can visit by clicking HERE

It's well worth visiting.

I didn't actually go looking for shadows this week and only realised how quirky this one was when I came to do a completely different post. My friends and I had a club night at Mel's on Friday. We are not so much 'ladies who lunch' as 'ladies who laugh'. And there was certainly a lot of laughing on Friday night. Mel sets little challenges every month and this month's challenge was to create a tacky Royal Wedding souvenir.

Obviously, the tackier the better.

Mel excelled herself with this Catherine Middleton topsy turvy doll made from two wooden spoons. Below we have 'common Kate'. Just an ordinary girl with a penchant for fashion. You may notice the stylish chamois leather, gypsy style skirt, the curtain ring earings and the special monogrammed yellow tee-shirt.

Above, we have Princess Catherine in her wedding finery. Note the self styled carrier bag wedding dress and a the exfoliating scrunchy hair. What a lovely shadow she makes.

Elaine also got the tacky element just right with her special Royal Wedding toilet roll holder.

There's really not a lot I can say about this that Elaine did not already say in her authentication certificate that came along with her souvenir.

Perhaps now I should add a disclaimer about how I had no part in these creations and that Buy Design does not specialise in tacky souvenirs. Elaine and Mel really are incredibly talented and creative ladies. Can you just imagine what they could do if they harnessed all their talent for good...



Shadow Shot Sunday

I wasn't the only girl looking for shadows around here today.

My poor Angel doesn't know what to do with herself now that the sun has come out. Being white with short hair she tends to get sun burn and we have to put sun block on her nose to stop it peeling.

She does look good in the shadow under the the old garden table though.

She's a bit of a rubbish model though because as soon as she realised I had the camera out she got all camera shy and headed back indoors.

Would you like to see more shadow shots ?

Pop over to Hey Harriet by clicking HERE

Shadow Shot Sunday

It has been such a long time since I played along with Shadow Shots on Sundays.

The main reason, of course that it's been a long time since we had much sun up here, and when we did have sun it was accompanied by gale force winds and freezing temperatures, and the thought of taking my thermal gloves off just so that I could take a picture was a little less than appealing.

I know that I am a big jessie at heart...( that's a big wimp, or a big softie if you aren't Scottish )

I've never claimed to be an intrepid explorer.

Anyway.. I was passing heyharriet today and stopped to see her amazing shadow shot. If you haven't visited before then you really should as this week's shadow is a cracker.

Now, from my living room it looked like there might be some sunshine in the garden so I quickly grabbed my camera and nipped out to see what I could find. I don't have a huge house and it certainly doesn't take more than a few seconds to get from the front room to the back garden but the sun had all but gone by the time I got out. Nonetheless I was not to be deterred in my search for a shadow.

Okay, so four wheelie bins in a row may not be everyone's cup of tea but they do look rather fine with their shadows on. Oh.. and since you are obviously drawn to the gorgeous blue car, I thought I should include a totally gratuitous shot of my baby.

She could do with a bit of a wash right now but I do love my car. She is a Chrysler PT Cruiser and the best car I have ever had. I always wanted one but always thought it was a bit extravagant and settled for something a bit more compact. A couple of years ago, though, my husband had a bit of a tumble in my small sensible car and ended upside down in the middle of a roundabout. Now don't panic. He was absolutely fine, but the car was a complete right-off. Thanks to a very generous insurance company we were able to replace sensible with gorgeous. He likes to tell people that he nearly died just so that I could get my dream car, but that's a bit of an exaggeration.

 And in case anyone was wondering if I enjoyed seeing Showaddywaddy..

Here's a slighly dodgy shot of 'the boys' on stage at Pitlochry Festival Theatre on Friday night. It was a great night of music, nostalgia and a few laughs.

Shadow Shot Sunday

During the summer.... ahh seems like a long time ago.. I came across the blog of Hey Harriet with the lovely challenge of photographing shadows and posting them on Sundays to share with shadow followers around the world. I really enjoyed looking at everyday things in different ways and trying to improve my photographic skills along the way.

So in a bid to get away from talking about snow I decided to look for shadows here in Alyth this morning. The sun was very weak, but any sun at all and no snow is a blessing so I did my best.

That's me, in the middle. My shadow looks like the Bishop in our chess set. A bit bizarre as I'm pretty sure I look nothing like a Bishop but then they do say that the camera never lies...

It was just a quick walk through the wee park and it looks so pretty.

So far the burn hasn't frozen over as it did last winter. It was lovely to see the sky so blue and the hills in the distance. I'm going to have to try and get some shots in the evening when the lights along the burn are lit. We have been adding to them over the last few years and they now go all the way up to the second bridge and look gorgeous.. so Christmassy.

No excuses for this shot which I took yesterday.

He's a Fireman.

One of the local volunteer firemen to be exact.

They came out to remove some massive icicles hanging from the roofs. We were all a bit concerned that someone could get hurt if the icicles fell off.

So that's it for now.

Shadows

Snow

and Firemen.

Have a look over HERE for more shadows x

Sunday Shadows in Montrose

When I got up this morning it was very grey with not a hint of sun in the sky. I thought I would have real problems trying to find shadows of any kind but it's Sunday which means joining in with Shadow Shot Sunday at Hey Harriet so I just had to see what I could find.

Just after church we headed off to Montrose and were happy to see the clouds burning off and the sun breaking through. By the time we had reached Montrose, about 40 minutes from home, the sun was shining and the shadows were out in force.

Crossing the railway footbridge to get a better look at the sea, I just had to get my camera out for the first time. Lovely lattice work shadows and my man looking out to sea.

We stopped off for lunch in The Picture House, which is an old cinema, converted into a pub/restaurant, and had a lovely meal, then set off for a walk along the harbour and down to the beach.

Along the way we spotted this..

...which belongs to this..

Isn't he fabulous. His name is Mamse and he belonged to the Captain of a Norwegian Naval ship during the second world war. The ship spent long periods of time docked at Montrose and Dundee during the war years and the fabulous Mamse was pretty much adopted by the people of Montrose. According to the information board...

... he was a very brave dog dog and received the doggy equivalent of the George Cross.

It seems that he also had his own bus pass hung from his collar and whenever the towns bus drivers saw him they would stop and let him on board. Can you imagine sitting on a bus, minding your own business, and being joined by an enormous St Bernards dog ?

Further along the way we thought about going down this staircase with the wibbly-wobbly shadows,

but the swelling waves kind of changed our minds.

Nobody wants wet feet on a Sunday walk.

Not even this guy.

There are fabulous statues and sculptures all over Montrose. Some are historical figures, important to the town in some way, and others like this one are related to ordinary seafarers.

No beach would be complete without some colourful bunting around the children's play area.

So much for my hazy morning. It's been a lovely day chasing shadows.

Have a wee click HERE to see some super international shadows.

Have fun.

Fiona x

Sunday Shadows in Broughty Ferry.

My knowledge of flowers is pretty hazy. I often think I know what something is called, but the truth is that I'm just guessing most of the time. This lamp-post shadow though, reminded me of what I think is called a Lupin. The chances are it's called something else entirely but it does look a like a long stemmed little bud to me.

We had our 'summer' holiday at the beginning of July and it's seems like a long time ago now. That is perhaps why we have been out and about playing at being tourists for the last couple of Sundays.

Today we went to Broughty Ferry which is only about forty minutes away from Alyth and had a lovely walk along the front at the side of the River Tay.

I did wonder if I could pass this shot off as a shadow shot but there is a big clue there which you just might spot if you look closely...

Can you see the train on the second bridge?

The Tay road bridge is at the front with the Tay rail bridge about half a mile further down the river. If you walk along the riverside under the rail bridge you can still see the supports for the original Tay Railway bridge standing out of the water. It collapsed on 28th December 1879 during a terrible storm. Most of the passengers on the train that was crossing the bridge at the time died due to the cold water rather than drowning. To be honest, I hate crossing the bridge. I know it's not going to collapse but I always find myself looking out for the old supports in the water.

On  a lighter note... We found the biggest thistle I have ever seen in the ornamental gardens in Broughty Ferry. My husband is 5ft 8in so you can see it is quite a large thistle.

A lovely walk along the shoreline.

And a visit to Broughty Castle for some local history

Then it was time for a late lunch at the Chinese Buffet on the City Quay in Dundee.

Home on time to join Shadow Shot Sunday at heyharriet 

I've got to deliver a child to swimming club now but will be checking out some more super shadow shots this evening. Have a look yourself. There are lots of lovely bloggers to visit.

Fiona x

Sunday Shadows

Okay I admit it. We didn't actually go to Paris today to take photos of shadows.

We did go to Dundee to buy a guitar case.

But the guitar shop was shut.

So we went to Dundee Museum and galleries.

We had never been before are were really impressed.

So.. no guitar case, but lots of history, art and culture, including the current Titian exhibition.

Oh ! and a nice cup of tea and croissant at the outdoor cafe.

What an amazing building and what a lovely blue sky.

Sometimes it's good to take the time to really look at your local area.

You don't have to do all your sightseeing on holiday.

I'm off for a look at some Sunday Shadows HERE at Hey Harriet.

Sunday's Shadows.

Look what I saw today.

If you ignore the poor framing and the red and white No Entry barrier at the bottom, I think it's pretty cool.

We had a run out to Dunkeld today and enjoyed a walk along the river and around Dunkeld's ancient cathedral. It dates back to the early 1400's, hence the ongoing restoration work which explains the No Entry barrier. I just loved the way the sun was shining through the arches which are so bright on the ground and yet everything else is in shadow.

I often visit Kylie's blog Chasing Purple Dreams HERE She is a very talented artist and I love to see how her work develops. Kylie often takes part in Shadow Sunday HERE at Hey Harriet.

So for the first time I am about to join in and send this shadow shot out to join lots of other super shadows.

Visit Hey Harriet if you want to see them all.

Fiona x