LOVELY WANSTEAD..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

This is another look at the roads of Wanstead. This time it's Fitzgerald Road behind the old Fire Station, lovely houses, blue skies, buds coming out on the bushes, what more could we want.

FLY ME TO THE MOON...

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Very clear blue sky the other day, there were several aeroplane contrails in the sky. I took this picture at 3.55pm, the moon seemed to have come up very early, the moon times always seen more erratic than sunrise/sunset times so If anyone has any more information on this please let me know.

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PERFECT AGAINST A BLUE SKY..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved.

There's an old expression that says 'buses always come along in two's', well a similar thing happened to me but with magnolias. A few days ago I found a great example in Mansfield Road and now I have discovered this one in Fitzgerald Road. I photographed it from underneath and I think it looks wonderful against the blue sky.
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IRISH NIGHT...

Popped into The Nightingale pub in Nightingale Lane, Wanstead on Wednesday night. It was very busy with the Wanstead Society's Spring Social and landlord Noel's Irish Night. It's very informal with musicians turning up around 9pm and jamming. It's a regular Wednesday night event and this week around ten musicians turned up and there was some great music, some of them were members of the Celtic band WraggleTaggle who count Mick Jagger and British Airways among their clients. The pub was full both with locals and visitors, a great night all round. 

   World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved
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IN THE PINK..

                             World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

With all the blossom that's out at this time of the year its easy to go into 'blossom' overload, it all looks great. However walking along Mansfield Road the other day I came across this fabulous pink magnolia bush in a front garden, it really stood out. Having the sun behind it offering natural backlighting made for a great photograph.
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ALLOTMENTS..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

There is something hopeful about this time of year, it seems full of promise. Although the blossom is on the trees most of the flowers and vegetables are still to come and allotments will come fully alive.  I think sheds on allotments are great, they come in all shapes and sizes and like beach huts they are very personal and special. This particular allotment is in Redbridge Lane West.
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ABSTRACT..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

If there is something big to photograph I am always drawn to stand right underneath it. It sounds contradictory, most people always back off to get it all in but I like the shape and form that you get from looking up. This is the footbridge crossing the A12 between George Green and the Redbridge roundabout.

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ST GEORGE'S DAY..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson -All rights reserved

Today is the feast day of St George, the patron saint of England. The popular image is of St George slaying the dragon, unfortunately I couldn't find any dragons in Wanstead but I did find this flag flying in Buckingham Road set against a dramatic sky.
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DOUBLE VISION...

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Fabulous weather in Wanstead last Saturday. I was taking a look around George Green and a close look at the old horse trough on the corner, built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. I really admire the clever thinking of the architect giving us this double aspect view of Wanstead.

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COWLEY ROAD..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

I was walking past Cowley Road the other day late in the afternoon, there was the most beautiful warm light falling on the houses. Combined with the blossom just coming out on the trees the combination of both made for a lovely Wanstead street photograph.

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NEW BEGINNINGS...

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

This is Jubilee Pond on Wanstead Flats, you may remember I photographed it a few weeks ago full of water with dramatic clouds overhead. I visited again this week and what a different scene, the pond has been unable to retain water for some time so it has been drained and is being fitted with a new  impermeable lining. Really good news for the birds and water plants, it should be finished by the summer. 
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TEXTURE.

                 World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved.

The wonderment of natural texture is something that many artists are constantly striving to capture on canvas. I do it through the camera and this old tree on Christchurch Green is a natural subject for either the artist or the photographer.

SIGN OF THE TIMES..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

I really like these illuminated signs at bus stops telling you arrivals times like this one in the High Street, what a brilliant idea. In years gone by there were two types of buses, one red and one green. The red buses were pretty much as they are now stopping frequently and fairly regular. The exciting ones were the Green Lines, they were much less frequent but went much further and stopped less, every trip on one of these was like an adventure. An illuminated sign to tell people when they were coming would have been perfect !
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STAR MAGNOLIA.

                             World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved.

Just as its name suggests this little star despite the bad weather we have been experiencing, decided to bloom when the sun came out. The sun continued to shine just right for this picture.
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WORTH WAITING FOR..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

I have been waiting ages to take this picture. The light needs to be just right to bring out the features and quality of this building. It happened last Sunday, Our Lady of Lourdes was bathed in diffused sunlight and looked great.
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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved.

Saturday rain all day, people hurrying with umbrellas, no one dallying. Sunday beautiful, warm sunshine, football on Wanstead Flats with lots of spectators. Perhaps it really is the start of summer. British weather eh !
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FIRST DAYS OF SUMMER...

Ah the first days of summer ! You may have noticed that it rained yesterday. Wanstonians however, were not defeated, there was a great display of umbrellas in the High Street. Hopefully sunshine today.

LOVELY OLD BUILDING..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

I love finding these odd buildings in Wanstead. This is in Fitzgerald Road, which has lovely houses so I wonder how this fits in ? My suspicion is that it is the rear of I & K Brown's garage around the corner in Church Path, the original 'jobmasters' building.

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We had a great Intermediate workshop last weekend and on  Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th of April we have a 2 day Basic Workshop. This is a really great introduction to photography taught in a simple and practical way. See the workshop page for more information.

NORMALLY HIDDEN...

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Leaves in summer are lovely but another reason why I like bare branches is that things that are normally hidden are revealed. This is the Weavers Almshouse in New Wanstead, opened in 1859 by The Worshipful Company of Weavers this wonderful facade is normally hidden by the tree's, how great to see it on show.
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LONELY FOREST..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

This is a small piece of  forest behind the War Memorial in the High Street. I have never been there before, it looks like its mainly used as a cut through between New Wanstead and the High Street. Next time you are passing, linger and take a  look it's another Wanstead gem.
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PINK CAR..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

These great retro looking cars are often seen buzzing around Wanstead, according to the badge on the front it's a Nissan Figaro. I spotted this one parked in New Wanstead, pink, what a great colour ! I waited for a red bus to go past to give me a striking background. 
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1888 AND ALL THAT...

                               World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Lots of things happened in the year 1888, in America the National Geographic Society was founded, Dunlop patented the pneumatic bicycle  tyre, George Eastman patented the first roll film camera and Jack the Ripper is at work. Closer to home in 1888 these shops and flats were built in Wanstead High Street with these wonderful facades. Like I have said before It pays to look up.
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OLD RAILINGS

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Walking along Church Path I spotted these railings in front of a house. I think they must be the original, there's just something fascinating about peeling paint it just cries out for a close up,

PAMPAS GRASS

World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

This pampas grass in Fitzgerald Road is great. It doesn't matter what the time of year or the weather every time I pass by it looks wonderful. I particularly like this view, backlit, with the old railings in front. 

SPOOKY SKY.

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

As I have mentioned before, I like the bare branches of trees against the sky. I took this picture on Christchurch Green the other day but added a little 'in camera wizardry' to make it more dramatic.

GOLF IN THE SUNSHINE

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

I was driving along Warren Road on Tuesday, as I passed  the lower three holes of Wanstead Golf Club I saw these two guys playing. It's great to see this part of the course back in action after all the wet weather, I hope the players enjoyed the sunshine as well as the game.

SUNRISE..

    World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Remember yesterday morning, grey, overcast and cold ? Well not at sunrise when this pictures was taken, these fantastic  colours lasted only a few minutes before the sun rose high enough to be hidden by the clouds. I had to take this photograph very quickly, there was not enough time to find a different location, however when I saw the image on the back of the camera I really liked the combination of the sun, power lines and trees.

WANSTEAD'S OLD FIRE STATION..

                            World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

This is the chimney of the old fire station in Wanstead Place. It looks enormous, more like you would see on an industrial building. You can see the chimney pots clearly on the right but what was the rest of it for ? Is the space on the left for a lookout ? Any thoughts please let me know ?

                       World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Wanstead got this fire station in 1913 complete with horse drawn engines, in 1919 it received it's first motorised fire engine. The station was closed in 1957 doubtless after doing sterling service to the local community. It is now the home of Wanstead Children's Centre.

World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

CURTAINS...

                   World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

I think old brickwork is great, there's just something about it that's mysterious. I always wonder exactly how old it is and what it has witnessed. This pillar in Fitzgerald Road is almost covered in ivy, there is just enough of a gap for the bricks to show through. The ivy reminds me of heavy curtains in an old drawing room.

REMEMBER THIS ?

                      World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

This caught my eye in Fitzgerald Road this week. At one time telephone poles were very common, their wires running through the air into houses connecting people to the world. Now everything seems to be buried underground, so it was a surprise to see this pole with it's climbing steps. Many years ago there was a small GPO training area near Charlie Browns roundabout where engineers were taught to climb the pole and practice working on the wires at height.