ST CUTHBERT (20/04/10)

I was woken this morning by the wind rocking the truck and howling in the roof vents. Dawn arrived and with it a cloudless sky. After a quick breakfast off we set for Hareshaw Linn and the waterfall. I got half a mile down the road and realised I was not just cold but perished. Back to the van for another layer, a hat and winter trousers.

We recommenced our journey but I realised the sun was far too bright and harsh for any descent shots of the falls, or anything else for that matter so postponed the plan till tomorrow. It will have to be an early start as the forecast is for another bright and sunny day.

        Everything is coming along nicely, not only Daffodils but a few Buttercups have joined them.

       Bellingham Bridge, although it is only single track it is a grand structure. It’s a good job it only carries a ‘B’ road otherwise it would have been widened and in my experience not sympathetically. Reinforced concrete being the medium of choice for such jobs.

We followed the short riverside walk into town, on the way St Cuthbert’s Well is marked on the map…..Missed it. We did find his church but the sun was all wrong so it can wait for another day. There’s also a beautiful War Memorial honouring the local fallen in the Boer War, the refuse wagon on a coffee break and sun precluded pictures…….Another day.

This, I’m guessing, was once the school. It now seems to be the community centre. (Sorry about the halo, the result of shooting, processing and posting in half a day. Also the result of sloppy selection. You deserve better).

Next stop was the newsagents' for a paper. I can’t remember when I last purchased a Telegraph and a packet of cigarettes from an angel, almost forgot the fags! Asked her about the gun and the school, more to pass the time with a goddess than in any real hope of information. I wasn’t disappointed on either count. She did know where St. Cuthbert’s Well was so one problem solved.

“You walked right passed it!”

Most likely her Chinese Takeaway wrapper I had to remove prior to the shot.

Hareshaw Burn, a mile upstream are the falls.

At last St. Cuthbert’s Well……………WELL!!?

Molly appreciated it, nowt like a drop of Holy Water.

    Finally another view of the bridge.

I’m still waiting for advice on the camera. It may sound daft but I feel a little like I have lost half a friend. I had another go at it yesterday and seem to have solved exposure problems. Focus, even on manual, sometimes shifts or, possibly, I need new specs.

The last word………….Manifest is derived from the Latin Manifestus. Translated……Caught in the act.

The ‘O’ in MANIFESTO is the diminutive of WHO………… As in WHO--------------ME!

Have a good day.