Rustic Charm Renewed

This wonderful staircase is part of the hamlet in Marie Antoinette's domain at Versailles. A little hamlet created to give the Queen a taste of rural life without actually having to get close to poor people. It is quite beautiful but at the same time it is an obscene folly.

The last time that I had visited I photographed this staircase and it was quite fragile and close to collapse. So it was nice to see that it has been restored to its original condition.

On The Ropes

A few weeks ago I posted a couple of pictures of the tall ship that my son had sailed on. He described how he had climbed the rigging and gone out to the end of the spar to adjust the sails. I thought what a great adventure that must have been and so these shots are in recognition of that feat.

These shots are of HMS Warrior at the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth. It has an interesting history including a period as a prison hulk before being restored to its former glory.

Overflow

This lock is at the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port which marks the end of the Shropshire Union Canal where it joins the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey.

In the original image the principal colour is green and it sort of takes over. Converting it to monochrome and adding some coloured hues ensures the main focus in the image is the lock gates (at each end of the lock) and the flowing water.