from inkdrop – poetry, places and events
My mind was focused on two large pine cones
engaged in a race under an iron bridge
determined to reach the other side
in order
to beat the other to the bank
a force of nature willing them on
to reach the end before their friend
if you were wondering who won
of course – it was neither – it was the squirrels
now nibbling on them at the end of the bank
A poem by inky, originally appeared on Allpoetry.com
Feel free to tell us your thoughts.
They created a crossing
over the river, that bended, bobbed and weaved
gave it nice hot shiny rivets, to hold it together
ending with a lick of paint to make it shiny
then as the builders worked on their plots
houses and houseboats appeared by the canalside
even a big ship or three
resting by the side of the water, so
when a new road was needed
over the water a new crossing went, the
road going over the water with ease. Opened by the
king, queen or some other noble, they noticed the
incredible way the bridges worked aiding
naval ships and big trading vessels to
get from a to b with ease
A selection of stuff, taken by me during photography classes
submitted for Cees Fun Foto Challenge
The Orb was a lighting experiment – and used Red LEDs to brighten up a Glass Sphere.
County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Memories of crossing the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge
A rope bridge passing two rocky points in Northern Ireland
Above you, Blue Skies
Below you, the Blue Green waters of the Irish Sea
Feet bobbing up and down as you crossed across the wooden panels
Holding tightly to the ropes as your body went in tandem with the waves
Wobbling up and down
Eyes on the end
Not distracted by the aqua below
Salford, 5th July 2017
in response to the photo challenge Bridge
It can be happily said that where i live, in Salford, you’re no more than five minutes away from a bridge of some sort.
The mass of water you see above is the Manchester Ship Canal , which flows towards the river mersey, and flows through the county of Greater Manchester
as a result – there’s a number of bridges that cross this expanse.
The one i cross most days is the Trafford Road Bridge, which i cross when going to sporting events on the other side of the county.
Occasionally, i’ll cross this bridge – the old dockside swing bridge – affectionately called “Detroit” as each of the docks is named after an american lake. Detroit passes over “Erie” Basin, a place once for ships – but now more akin to Open water swimming
Erie has an adjoining canal, called Mariners – and this too has a set of bridges to enable those living on the dockside to get about. This pic was taken at the point where the mouth of Erie flows into Mariners – which joins up with another set of Basins at the other side.
The newest of all the bridges on the quayside (and the last in the sequence on my journey to Imperial War Museum North) is the Millennium Bridge – built for the year 2000 and providing access across the waterway between the Lowry arts centre in Salford, and Imperial War Museum North – in Neighbouring Trafford
(Sports fans might have also noted – its used for quick access to Manchester United Football Club’s stadium – Old Trafford)
Definition of Ostentatious
Characterised by pretentious or showy display; designed to impress.
There are many places that meet this criteria, but you could say the refurbished Manchester Waterside comes close.
Firstly they cleaned up the basins, and placed lots of fancy housing around where the dockside warehouses are…whilst that was going on, they built a hotel on the dock 6, the nearest to the Trafford road bridge, built the bridge a sister and turned Trafford road into a dual carriageway
Wildlife made its way onto the Dockside, whilst a line of trees followed a walkway commemorating the areas past and transformation, as office blocks, hotels and shopping malls made their way onto space where industrial and ship repair warehouses once stood
The Office workers were given modern housing set by the waterside, and the owners paid a fortune to get the water in the basins cleaned up. Old Bridges were given a lick of paint, and the Gem in the crown of the transformation – An Arts centre – the Lowry was placed in a prominent position on the canalside
The latest piece of the Jigsaw ? arrived when BBC Manchester were considering a new base for their broadcast HQ. This led to the development on the furthest part of the quayside adjacent to the Lowry by Erie Basin. They called the development “Mediacity:UK” and hosts broadcasting facilities for BBC TV and Radio and ITV…as well as several production houses
Definitely a change from the Old Dockside…..
Ostentatious ? I’ll let you be the judge of that !
In response to the daily post prompt Bridge
Salford, Saturday 29th October 2016
Wonderful pieces of engineering
traversing the great canal waterway
passing across them on a daily basis
I marvel at the way they work
Some, they lift until weights stop,
and some turn round as ferry anchors drop
but without them the canal would make travellers cross
and with no trade to speak of – it would be quite a loss.
Detroit Bridge, Erie Basin, Salford Quays
My entry for the “Look up” Photo Challenge
Picked it for the Red, White and Blue of the Steels in the bridge – as well as that wonderful blue you get of a Salford City Morning.
Could call it a little abstract on my part – but I like the way it makes shapes out of the morning sky.
Following on Nicely from my piece on the bridge at Salford Quays
Here’s a piece of poetry from my Allpoetry Archive
Hope you like it 🙂
Salford, 23rd June 2016
In response to the prompt
Curve
Strolling round my hometown of Salford, you can see Many curved structures.
The river Irwell traverses around the cities various districts and as a result, crossing points have been created to cross this body of water
This pic is of the millennium bridge, straddling the Manchester Ship Canal from its point at Salford Quays at the Lowry, towards Trafford Wharf and Imperial War Museum North, on the other side of the canal. The building at the back of the bridge is the Ship Canal HQ.
The bridge itself lifts by means of two sets of weights at the top of four towers each side of the bridge. as these are moved by the bridges cables it moves the bridge.
As the canal reaches the quayside it makes its way through Five canal basins interlocked by a series of mini canals which are crossed by footpaths and bridges. Mariners Canal which links Ontario Basin with the larger Erie Basin has a bridge connecting the main road (Trafford Road) with the Offices and Houses on the Quayside. This bridge was completed in 1989. It has its own curves – islands for Street lights which cross over the canal.
Detroit bridge has a curved walkway, for special events that take part throughout the year in the city, in particular the Open water swims and Triathlon events that occur during weekends and on fixed dates during the year. Its been a venue for Commonwealth Games events and Triathlon.
The Canal itself cuts through areas of Greater Manchester till it reaches its source at Eastham.
