Watton at Stone Cricket Team at Bamville

The Cricketers from Watton at Stone visited Harpenden to play against Bamville Cricket Club on Sunday and the weather was warm and close, as was the match that played out in the afternoon with an end that was equally close.

I cannot claim to be writing about the match from a cricketer’s standpoint, I simply try to record what I find of interest from what I can capture, and this is strongly biassed towards my capturing the bails in the air and the stumps ‘akimbo’! That is challenge enough; to capture a fielder catching the ball direct from the batsman requires a thorough recognition of the characteristics of the bowler, the batsman, considerable knowledge of the game and the relative skills of individual fielders – my knowledge of the above can be summed up as limited in the extreme, or more honestly as zilch!

Now that the cataract in my hitherto dominant right eye has been rectified, my skill lies with my eyes and reasonable reactions to what they see and anticipate from my observation of the play. I have a weighty but very steady tripod, so moving around is slightly restricted, and every so often the fielders share my chosen viewpoint thus I have to wait a while before I have a clear line of sight on the batsman, or if they seem rooted to the spot, I have to move and reset the tripod level again. When deciding to follow the action of a bowler, it is well nigh impossible to follow the entire run-up due to the proximity of the umpire, and the batsman at the crease, so that often results in less than tidy images.

If the bowler is powerful, this makes inclusion of the wicket keeper less easy due to the distance he will be from the stumps, so I tend to favour the batsmen as my favoured subjects, and some can be right-handed others left-, so as play within an over progresses, my viewpoint which had one of the batsmen facing me, can change when odd numbers of runs are achieved. I therefore tend to err on the photographic and photogenic aspects, such as from where is the light coming, the composition and any drama that occurs. Crisp shots of the bails in the air and the stumps re-arranged therefore seems like a good measure of whether my photos are a success – I missed two such occasions in this match due to my attempts at concentrating on the bowlers in both instances, but hopefully the batsmen’s play of the ball helps to tell the story of the afternoon alongside the record of their occasional demise due to accurate bowling. My apologies for the total absence of the record of great catches of which ironically I did actually witness two, with my number one eyeball!

Play was interrupted by a friendly Golden Retriever, and I manage to get a few shots of an overflying gull, just to add to the day’s action, and thank you Peter for some sustenance, the end of the day however was less successful and ultimately very costly, I managed to pick up a sharp flint from where I parked my car, and with the air in my tyre only lasting to the far side of Harpenden, my journey home was delayed waiting for the AA, because, the puncture could not be repaired and the rest of the journey was completed using a spacesaver tyre, and the day following necessitated a drive to Luton to replace the tyre, as the damage was right at the very edge of the tyre.

Bamville at Home to Carpenters' Arms Cricketers

Bamville Cricket Club only have use of the ground for playing on a Sunday afternoon, as they share the pitch with the local Golf Club, and the parking of cars is in a former ‘Three Horseshoes Public House Car Park at East Common.

On Sunday two local teams from Carpenters’ Arms and the home team Bamville were playing, and the forecast was for Showers, and on my arrival, I thought perhaps I might be lucky as the sun was shining…

I assembled my camera and lens with little time to spare before the Home team took to the pitch and play began. I was determined to ensure I caught the first over, and in my haste, I forgot two items, my ideal glasses for viewing the back of the camera and a second lens for any more general shots, Peter Carr who was scoring, I thought would be heavily involved in that all afternoon, but shortly came over in my direction, and I asked whether he might at least rescue the lens from my car’s boot, which he kindly did; I managed however to forget to ask for the more vital second item, my other pair of glasses!

The first few shots looked an interesting sequence from which to create an animated GIF, and so after taking the shots on the day, I actually wasted some considerable time trying to do just that before the task of gallery creation, hence the delay in these reaching the blog.

That is getting ahead of myself. I started shooting from outside the clubhouse moving slowly round the boundary widdershins. Occasionally taking some shots using the 24-70mm lens handheld, and here I must apologise as the clocks in the two different camera bodies are not in synch, so some of the shots are not correct chronologically, but I manage to keep forgetting to reset them!

I was happy to have got one shot of airborne bails reasonably early, but sad to miss a a splendid catch. Also, though I did get another bails airborne shot, Some of the fielders seem to possess eyes in the backs of their heads and align themselves between the action and myself, and moving and resetting the heavy tripod often takes too long, and on occasion this afternoon, when I did do so, they moved with perfect synchronicity! And a certain Law came into play here as a clean bowling occurred at the crease completely obscured from my lens.

There was one youngster whose talent really shone through and impressed me despite his diminished stature; he seemed a good all-rounder, had great style and oodles of energy, but looked very disappointed to be out – at that time; not a happy bunny. I have subsequently learned his name is Ashish Padki; if he perseveres, I reckon he will be someone to look out for in Cricketing circles – he reminded me very much of the young Lewis Hamilton.

The rain did not hold off to the end of play and as the first drops fell, I moved ever closer to the clubhouse to protect the camera and lens in changes of over. It was also getting darker which would have forced me to increase speed and suffer more from noise, so I ended watching from the shelter of the clubhouse, later bringing the car over to put the gear back in. Only the second cricket match covered this season, but thoroughly enjoyable still.

Bamville Cricket Club – Home Season Opener

Sunday turned out to be moderately warm in the sun, and I certainly favoured sunshine for a Cricket Match, as the players always look good in their white trousers and sweaters when in sunshine, whereas under cloud they look somewhat drab.The Cricket Match I was due to cover was a team local to Harpenden, Bamville, which is a somewhat smaller club, with a small, but interesting ground, since it's pitch shares the space with part of the local Golf Course, which limits play to Sundays. All very English.

I arrived early to capture some of the setting up preparations, which included the Scorer for the day opening up the scoreboard to oust the resident spider, and using the manual for the new Coffee machine to learn about its as yet unfamiliar operation. After adding this talent to his vast experience as a top Product Designer and Cricket and Snooker Guru, he went on to fill the far less sophisticated Water Boiler — is there no end to this man’s talents? On a more serious note, Peter is one of a number of dedicated volunteers who help this friendly Club to run and provide enjoyment for those who play Cricket and socialise.

The visiting Team on this occasion was The Players and Jesters from Nearby St. Albans, and the opening batsmen were the Home team. I will let the pictures tell the story of the match as I am unfamiliar with the personnel, what I will say is the final result was close. I was disappointed that I missed at least two instances of the bails taking to the air, but I did manage to capture three others, as these are the moments that make a difference for a photographer.

I had arrived in just a shirt and welcomed the opportunity to slip into a pullover after the first innings, but even with this on, by the end I was starting to wish that the Home team put more bails into the air as the wind was by now on the back of my neck and had risen in strength and fallen in temperature!

I had managed to take several sequences that illustrated the shapes bowlers created and batsmen the contortions had gone through to find the ball and project it to the boundary. An afternoon spent in good company and providing me with the exercise of carrying a heavy tripod and camera, keeping my eye in, outside in the fresh air.

Sunday Cricket – Bamville vs Bedford Park

It is some time since I went to Harpenden to cover a Cricket Match, and the weather looked set fair, so I travelled down to see Peter Carr who this day was scoring as is is his wont. I left in what I took was good time and chose to take a part of the journey along the country lanes, which was a reasonably good choice as far as it went, but it would have been even better, had I decided to avoid the M1 entirely as an accident on the other carriageway had attracted the attention of the southbound carriageway users, thereby slowing our journey as well!

I arrived just in time to miss only the first over. The home team, Bamville had chosen to bat. I was determined to avoid the sun where possible, so had a scruffy, but wide-brimmed floppy hat and a light scarf to protect my neck, and set up close to the pavilion in the leafy shade of some nearby trees. The pitch is part of the Golf Course for weekdays and Saturdays, and is undulating and irregular, making it very irregular and being close to dense, bramble-heavy undergrowth and tall grasses, prone to numerous stoppages due to locating errant balls despatched by enthusiastic batsmen, which has the effect of forcing fielders to do the searching aided on occasion by the occasional spectators.

Photographing level with the pitch can sometimes be difficult when using a tripod, because fielders can often obscure your direct line of sight to the batsmen or bowler alternately, but shooting handheld with a long lens can be wearing, so full-coverage is never guaranteed and capturing fielders catching balls is seriously difficult, so with the home team batting, I concentrate on them for the first half and do my best to at least cover some fielding in the second half. As a spectacle-wearer I find it hard to get a complete view of the screen with a dSLR, which is an issue when trying to follow a cricket ball!

As with the windsurfing shots I have tried to capture sequences, which means an extra burden in post processing due to the large number of shots, but it does improve the success rate of the peak of actions, but it gives me even greater respect for the sports photographers in the days of film.

I did manage to capture a few of those moments when the bails flew, but sadly lifted my finger from the shutter release when a catch was about to be made, but the waiting hands of the fielder are in view. I had an enjoyable afternoon, but have spent longer, doing cropping and occasional colour tweaks due to the light changing, and throwing out shots either leading up to or following on from an action I was trying to capture, but altogether fun.

Bamville Cricket Club, Harpenden visited by Ivanhoe CC

A week back I had hoped I would be able to get down to visit Bamville Cricket Club for the first time this season, but it did not happen, so despite being somewhat tied up with tech-editing the first few chapters of Martin Evening’s next in the series of ‘Photoshop for Photographers’ books, I cleared what I could and headed down the M1 to Harpenden. I met more traffic than anticipated, obviously due to the attraction of bright weather, so the match had started without me! Hardly a surprise!

I gathered my kit, in this instance the 150-600mm Tamron on the 7D MkII and popped the Lensmaster Gimbal head on the Silk Road Giottos carbon fibre tripod, crossed the road and sat down just outside the closest boundary. I chose a low viewpoint and splayed the tripod legs so that when seated the camera eyepiece was at my level, and started shooting.

I soon found that was not good for my back and headed past the white screens and for a short while possibly a couple of overs I kept the low viewpoint, but eventually common sense prevailed and I accepted the higher level, an Ivanhoe player came by and I was able to learn that the Visitors  side were batting.  A short while later a Bamville gentleman came over to ask me whether I took sugar in tea, which was exceedingly generous; a sweetened cuppa followed a few moments later.

I soon had an instance of stumps akimbo and bails in the air, and was able to feel Peter Carr would be pleased rather than dismayed by this.

In the end I had captured two such instances which is always rewarding; I missed another because the batsman concerned was stood precisely in front of the stumps hiding the denouement entirely!

I came into the pavilion when the team had their break and had to let Peter know, I would also be leaving before the end of the match, but I was still reward by something to eat as well as the earlier tea, so I thanked him for his hospitality, I hope the team are happy with what I did manage to capture.

Bamville Cricket Club – Last Match of 2013

Traditionally Bamville Cricket Club celebrates their last match of the Season, by playing tow teams from within the Club, that way Bamville Club cannot lose. On Sunday they were blessed with bright sunshine for most of the day, and it was pleasantly warm, and Peter Carr, the Club Secretary invited me along, and he would be very pleased if I would take a Club Team Picture for that season, I duly came along together with my cameras, and I also chose to check out CamRanger again.

Because most members would be unlikely to have eaten lunch a splendid buffet was being laid out as I arrived. Rather than confining myself to only taking pictures of the match in progress, I took the opportunity to take informal pictures of many of those attending, both players and and friends and family.

I tried to make sure that I shot the very first ball being bowled, and from then on I was trying to anticipate when the bails were dislodged by keen bowling and was pleasantly surprised by how many of such shots came my way that day – I cannot be sure that the batsmen who succumbed were quite as thrilled as I was, to capture the moment of their downfall, but I was unashamedly thrilled when I managed to do so! I even longed for the classic shot of a stump flying, but that was not to be.

Taking photos of a cricket match is certainly a fantastic way to make a rod for my own back in terms of post processing as I have to be constantly trying to anticipate when a memorable picture is going to occur, so there will always be a mountain of shots where anticipated action fails to materialise, and one simply adds to the total of images one takes, and not only that you may miss something if you choose to keep deleting at the time of taking. For that reason I would recommend that hard drive manufacturers sponsor Cricket as a great way to fill large discs!

Thank you very much to Peter for inviting me, and a very big thank you for the hospitality and company, both were absolutely excellent, and an especial thank you to the lady who made some fantastic chocolate brownies.

Gravely Cricket Club visits Bamville

The Sunday was far too hot to be inside, so initially I headed for Childwickbury (pronounced as if there was a double ‘d’ and a silent ‘w’), just south of Harpenden as I had been led to believe the wildlife was worth a visit, however, I did not take into account that an Art Fair was being held there, making the park somewhat inaccessible for my plans, so I soon came back out of the grounds and thought I would take a look at Bamville Cricket ground in case they were playing at home. At first I saw little activity, and was about to move off when I caught sight of Peter Carr, and realised that I was early enough for the start. The visitors this day were a team from Gravely.

At this time there were still golfers wheeling their caddies across what would become the pitch, so I took a good long long look before proceeding across the sward, heading for the pavilion. I ascertained that there was indeed going to be a match, and so I retraced my steps to my car and put the 100 - 400mm lens on the 7D, and put the 24-105mm on the 5D MkII, and returned and was promptly offered a drink, which I speedily accepted.

For once I was able to capture the coin-toss between the two team captains, with the pavilion in the background and a few shots of the erection of the sight-screens. Not being a cricketer, nor a cricket photographer, I shoot really to test my skills at timing, and trying to vary the viewpoints which often means that I can find myself at the wrong end for some of the action as each over changes ends. Ideally I need to be the other end alternately, but that is rarely possible, and on a hot steamy day definitely not an option!

I tried to shoot bursts on this occasion, but still twice missed the best shots by lifting off too soon. This meant I did a lot of ‘chimping’ and deleting straightway to avoid the burden of too much culling back at the computer. This could also result in lost moments, so I am still very much learning how to tackle this sort of work efficiently. Often I wanted to shoot both the bowler’s delivery and the batsman’s response, and this makes focussing accurately an issue.

But I persevere, and they do say practice makes perfect.

Bamville Cricket 1st 2013 Match – Just a Few Highlights

For those not looking to see whether I managed to do you justice as a player, be you a player from either side, here are just a few shots that I felt gave the day some spice. If I have captured the moment you were clean-bowled and you do not wish to be reminded, then you may prefer not to be singled out in these highlights and prefer to be lost in the crowd of the images I was trying to capture the feel of the afternoon, you may consider going to the fuller, extended set of pages in the larger gallery.

Either way, thank you all for giving me some practice.

Bamville Cricket Club – Season Opener

This was the first match of the 2013 calendar, and it started in bright sunshine with Cumulus clouds that eventually dimmed the sun somewhat. Although I am not a follower of cricket, I need as much practice as I can get to capture the moments in the game, so here was an opportunity to be out in the warm sunshine, and keep my hand in. Believe it or not, I did do some fairly extensive culling to arrive at the enormous gallery of images that appear, but so those playing do not feel neglected, I have tried to cover as many as possible, and so that the collection does not look too samey, I kept on the move around the boundary.

Most shots were taken on the 100 - 400mm lens on the Canon EOS 7D, with a few fillers on the 24 - 105mm on the Canon EOS 5D MkII.

For those who do not have the stomach for looking through the larger gallery I have made a single-page gallery of the more notable images from my own viewpoint, some show my sense of humour rather than any merit from a cricketing perspective.

Bamville Cricket Club vs Edlesborough2

Although I have had an open invitation to take photographs of the Bamville Cricket matches of a Sunday, each time this year that I thought I might make it something else cropped up, or I simply forgot, so this Sunday I was determined that I would make it, but having had a gloriously sunny but cool morning, I set off from Caddington in drizzle, and arrived at the far end of Harpenden with at least some sun.

I had intended to give my boomerang plate another outing with the gimbal head, but managed in my haste to leave it behind on the dining room table, however that turned out to be fortuitous as I was able to use it with my Acratech ball head, and found it was equally effective with this, which means that this is a seriously versatile plate in another setup than I had originally intended.

Bamville's pitch is fairly unique in that it possesses a unique boundary, that falls away dramatically on one side, and is also shared with a golf course.

I tried a few initial shots using the 1.4 Converter with the 300mm lens, but in fact that was too restrictive, so removed that and stuck with the 300mm on the Canon EOS 7D, some other shots taken early and at a break were on the 24 - 105mm. My neck was suffering due to the cold wind I experienced [part of the time, so I left before the end, so I have no idea of the score, but then I only wanted to see what I could capture as I am not a follower of the game. I just hope that as a record it pleases a few of the players.

Harpenden ‘Classics on the Common’

I have not managed to visit the car and bike display on the Common at Harpenden in previous years. This year Peter Carr a local Product designer and I have met up to visit the 2012 ‘Classics on the Common’ – all the Common, bar the Cricket pitch, is completely overtaken by parked cars and bikes from all eras, with milling crowds of all ages and colour thronging the lines of vehicles. In the main the bikes are under the shade of trees,

Overhearing conversations of others, confirms to Peter and I that we were not alone in pointing to the types of vehicles we had once owned. When talking to some of the current owners we reflected on the costs of ownership from those periods in our lives – cars bought for a few pounds, enjoyed for months or years and often sold for more than we paid for them! I could not match Peter’s knowledge, experience or range of vehicles owned, yet I had owned a fair few in my time, though never anything exotic or powerful.

The sheer joy on everyone’s faces and in their chatter certainly was a far cry from the doom and gloom reported in the media. I know the hot sunshine was a contributor, but this was a crowd out to enjoy itself, and to consider purchasing in some instances. The spirit of the festival, because that is how it seemed pervaded the whole of Harpenden and the place was very much alive, and I am certain it will have given the cafés and restaurants a welcome boost, along with all the burger bars and ice cream vans on the common itself.

Peter and a group of his friends were due to meet for Dinner at a restaurant, so we parted after meeting up with his wife Sue, and I returned to my car for the journey home and to put my pictures into another gallery.

Closing Stage of Construction

The atmosphere at the site was somewhat different, people without hard hats scurrying around organising deliveries; new unfamiliar faces of different workers, taking over from those of the main contractors, Jarvis and Toureen Mangan. There was an air of vibrancy, excitement and purpose, it did not seem like just another day, one of many; everyone seemed to know that this chapter was coming to a close and the birth of a new one was just beginning. Foresters was going to become a community of homes and shops, the shells were going to be filled, the sounds would no longer be those of construction, they would be the sounds of ordinary life, of new beginnings.

Although I found that in the retail units there was still work to be done, I realised that progress work was no longer with the main contractors, and that my visits had come to a close. I have felt very much a part of this development, I have been shown friendship and respect, and have always been greeted with cheerful banter, told which was their best side, as they struck poses when I passed by, and in return I have ensured that I took photos that always tried to show them in the best light, and it was flattering to be asked for my business card, so they could see what I had covered. Processes were explained to me; features I might be interested in covering were pointed out. It has been good to see how each trade has taken pride in the work they contributed to the whole.

It is interesting to think back to the earliest progress photos I took, during the construction of part of Imperial College, London – the shots were in black-and-white, the camera was a Sinar 5x4 monorail; everything was shot using a tripod and bulb flash, the numbers of shots was limited and far fewer than now where everything has been hand-held, bar the time lapse series taken of the dismantling of the tower crane. Everything has been in colour, yet ranged from the darkest recesses of the basement to exteriors in the brightest of sun. For the technical, I have used from ISO 5000 down to 100, and speeds from 1/4 second to 1/4000th, and everywhere between! And thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Getting Ever Closer to Completion

Jarvis Foresters, Harpenden – Less of a Building Site

Grass and finished paths makes the whole area look more and more like a completed development, and as I entered there were people looking to deliver some of the incomers’ fittings. The sun was shining brightly on the grass, round the back, blossom was appearing on the shrubs. Almost all the paths are now gravel composite where there was tarmac before, and only a few areas remain to be turfed.

Down below the basement is no longer a storage area, but has yet to be marked out for the parking bays, but the security gates are in place, but not yet motorised. Upstairs floor coverings are down in the communal areas, the lifts have their protective sheeting removed as have the glass panels on the staircases, so the next fortnight or so will soon see tenants moving in, and the sounds of construction will be a distant memory, and a new chapter will begin for the new residents.

Jarvis Foresters – Grass Goes Down

I made a point of arriving early in order to catch the laying down of the turves as a continuation of the previous day, but learned that what had been done was all that was being laid this side of Easter, so I have shots of the first laying complete, so having captured that I moved to the basement which is much less crowded, but not yet clear enough to do the marking out of the parking bays, and I suspect the pavers outside will need to be completed so that vehicles can enter the underground car park to remove the remaining stored items.

Above ground the metal frames that render the basement skylights safe are mostly in place, the individual garages now have their up-and-over doors. The staircases in some instances have their glass panels, banisters and skirting, and in places metal trim is being fitted.

Wrought-iron black painted rails are being fixed in place, and now most of the exterior path lighting is in place. In some of the apartments the lifts are now having their protective plastic covering removed, more bathrooms have been tidied. Wooden balustrades have yet to painted or varnished, flat signs and numbers are now up – levels of completion vary across the site, and I have tried to reflect this. Toureen Mangan high viz jackets were very much in the majority with Jarvis and Balgard completing numbers.

It was a bright and buzzing area with evidence of the previous night’s rain glistening in bright sunlight, and it was pleasantly warm.

Foresters Ever Closer to Completion

Toureen Mangan people are more in evidence on the Jarvis development site again, now that soil is going down to add the finishing touches to paths and grassy areas to come. And inside the basement is lessening its grip as a storage area.

Upstairs many of the bathrooms and kitchens have been cleaned up, tiles are up on the walls and down on many of the floors, the staircases are looking far more finished and lighting is going in all the common shared areas, and outside lighting for the pathways are being completed.

My sense of humour baffled one of the men when I asked whether this was the Cameron apartment – he was fitting the number ten to the door with infinite precision! I had had to lean into many of the more finished rooms on my knees as much of the protective coverings were being removed and this led to an amusing encounter where one of the builders noticed I had removed my hard hat, since I was always insistent upon only shooting those properly attired I felt very sheepish, thanked him, and scurried back upstairs to retrieve it – I had needed it off to be able to take one of the shots, and was thus ‘improperly dressed’!

Foresters – Countdown to Completion

Arriving in Harpenden, I found the traffic much busier than normal, and almost every available parking space occupied or had a car patiently queuing whilst the previous tenant was  gathering their shopping and wits in preparation for their departure. I had already driven around the islands between the High Street and service road, so pulled into the back of the development, hoping I’d be allowed to park on site. Fortunately that permission was granted, which meant I need not panic about Traffic Wardens for a change.

The first sight that greeted me was the power-jetting of the brickwork on the cottages, a sure sign that work is nearing completion. Then I spotted the last roof tiling being done, on the garages towards the front of the site, behind the existing shops.

Topsoil is now appearing around the front, so it will not be long before a new colour appears here – the green of grass; the frontage is beginning to look closer to the brochure picture.

Foresters Development – Completion Less Distant

Visiting today showed much more groundworks coming on. Externally, the alterations to the pavements and the cable-laying is close to completion, inside, the Portakabin Site Office has gone, and the roof over the Electricity Sub Station nears completion, and many more external walkways have been screeded. Behind now the gardens are taking shape with the turf settling down.

The boiler room in the basement seems to be close to being finished. Upstairs many of the staircases are having the skirting finished and receiving a coat of paint, and overall much of the finished shapes are becoming apparent, and many more bathrooms are being fitted out.

Overall, the pace of change seems to have moved up a gear.

Foresters Harpenden, 23rd February

The Foresters Development by Jarvis is certainly looking much closer to completion, and I arrived earlier than usual as I needed to return to base by eleven, and once again I am greeted by sunshine, and for a change the weather is pleasantly warm with just a slight breeze.

Around the back turf is going down and the gardens have much of their plants in, though there are more paths to be completed. Around the front screeding is drying. New garages in the front have tiles being hung, and others have their roofs yet to be completed but the weatherproof membrane is down and the battening is nearing completion.

Some pavers are going down at the back of one of the cottages, and many of the exterior doors are being fitted. Many of the kitchens and bathrooms are coming on apace, laminate flooring is being laid, and one staircase has some glass panelling with bold aluminium fittings up, but with its protective sheeting still in place.

As I left I also captured the newly completed re-arrangement of the service road pavements with its bright ringing of double yellow lines, and I gather there are some six weeks till completion, given favourable weather conditions.

Sunday Snow in Harpenden

Knowing that snow in this country does not stay pristine for long, I decided I would be up early to see what I could capture, I chose to drive to Harpenden first because I though snow on the roofs of the Foresters buildings would be worth having, and I thought there’d be lots of people out with sleds, but surprisingly I saw very few families out and about.

When I later took a look at Stockwood Park Golf Course, normally packed out with families on the slopes, there was absolutely no one at all, until as I was leaving, one dog walker, so obviously the locals are all late starters, reluctant to give up the warmth of their homes for the chill winter air!

Second 2012 Visit to Foresters

It was a crisp and bright winter’s day and for a change there was not the biting wind that we have had recently, so it did not seem so cold, and as I entered the site there was much more of the intended Retail part of the development to be seen as the scaffolding was now removed completely, and this was an area that I had not covered on my last visit.

There was a lot of outside work being carried out, removing some of the now redundant pipework in one area, and round the back the garden area was being rotivated and receiving topsoil. One of the electricians spotted my capturing his work in the retail section and told me that the main board area was now far advanced, so I shot that and I spotted that doors were now being hung on the storage areas in the basement, and also the water pipework now had meters fitted.

I had no time to visit much of the interiors this visit, except the drywalling was going on in the future retail section, so this will take priority on my next visit.