Bristol 2019

I'm lucky enough to work by the Harbourside in Bristol, which does make for some nice lunchtime walks - this is the sort of thing that I tend to post on Instagram (@shendy42), so quite a few of these are taken on my phone. Here's a selection of photos I took around the Harbourside area during 2019. Some of these are taken on film, from when I was testing my dad's Pentax cameras.The first section were taken at the Underfall Yard, and there's also quite a few images from Cumberland Basin which is another place I keep going back to as it's got the gritty concrete look I like. But I don't only photograph the harbourside - I do see other bits of Bristol. ...
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Music 2019

These are from some of the gigs I went to in 2019. The first one is from Neil Finn at St George's back in January 2019 - genuinely one of the best shows I've ever been to. It was him, sons Liam & Elroy and his wife Sharon. Fantastic songs (especially the Crowded House stuff, obviously) and such an intimate venue. Then a couple from Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul at the O2 Academy - I've never seen so many people on that stage! This one was an absolute blast, and bloody loud! The rest are from Muse at Ashton Gate stadium - spectacular! I've started up a separate music blog, which I really do need to write more on, and there are write-ups of a few of last year's gigs there - plus other musings. ...
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Exmouth Boat Trip, August 2019

At the start of August I headed down to Exmouth for the annual naturist boat trip up the River Exe. I've done this quite a few times now, and always still find something slightly different to photograph.We were fortunate with the tides this year, as we were able to go right up as far as the Princess Weir bridge - as far as the boat is able to go - rather than turning round just after Topsham. The day after, I took a trip to the Devon Sculpture Park - I don't think it's been open that long, as I'd not come across it before. As the crow flies it wasn't far from Exmouth (you could probably actually see if from where I was staying), but I had to drive all the way up to Exmouth and back down the other side of the estuary to get there - and then it takes a bit of finding as it's well out of...
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England Rugby World Cup Squad, August 2019

Prior to the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the England squad were training at Clifton Rugby Club, and the sponsors O2 laid on a "meet the squad" event. Happily, this took place round the corner from my office so I booked an afternoon off work and went. After an interminable wait, (most of) the players eventually arrived and generally mingled, posed for photos and signed autographs.There were also some interviews - Joe Marler is very funny, although I think he had to keep reminding himself to keep the content and language suitable for all ages... As a Northampton Saints fan I was of course on the lookout for our players - Piers Francis wasn't around, I didn't get to meet Courtney Lawes (he was called off to do a "grip & grin") but I did manage to see Lewis Ludlam and wish him luck. ...
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