Warwick Castle trebuchet

In 2005 I visited a woodworking firm in Colerne near Bath to photograph the team building a trebuchet for Warwick Castle.  

It was only this weekend when we visited Stratford on Avon for the Shakespeare 400 weekend that  I managed to get to Warwick Castle to see it work.

Though I contacted the PR department the week before and explained why I was visiting I failed to get a good position to photograph it, I think the Smiler accident at Alton Towers and the fact that a stray spark burned down a historic boathouse last year makes them very cautious and they don't fire a burning cannonball now.

The trebuchet at Warwick Castle is one of the main attractions.   It weighs 22 tonnes and stands 19 meters high

On 21 August 2006, the trebuchet claimed the record as the most powerful siege engine of its type when it sent a projectile weighing 13 kilograms (29 lb) a distance of 249 metres (817 ft) at a speed of 260 kilometres per hour (160 mph), beating the previous record held by the trebuchet at Middelaldercentret in Denmark

 

My composite picture of the trebuchet firing. 

As used in the Watergate break-in

In the 60's I spent a great deal of time in Abbey Cameras and Ivor Cross would often let me try some of the more unusual cameras.

I've just found theses pictures taken with a rare a rare Tessena sub miniature, the smallest TLR camera to use 35mm film that had to be loaded into special cassettes.

The pictures are "Walt" the late Cecil Manning Walters who work for them in the week and God at the weekends (He was a lay preacher) and the other picture is Wendy and Mum in our shop.

More Details http://bit.ly/Tessena

Tylee & Cooper Chemists Bath

A blast from the past my Mum Valerie Farr visits an old friend of the family Ted Kingston who owned Tylee & Cooper Chemists at 7 Bridge Street in the 60's now Blue Quails Deli.

Visiting Bat

Went down to check the horses and this arrived in daylight, went back to the house to collect fruit and mealworms to leave out. looks like it may have been injured may have been next door cat.

Prince Momolulu in Bath

With the Grand National today I thought I would re do this picture of Famous Tipster Prince Monolulu in the Abbey Church Yard, he died in 1965 so it must be older than that. http://bit.ly/25Q7zv0