Baby Annabell

As you can see two-year-old Lottie is a bit short of toys, and this is a picture of some of the toys she leaves at our house.
She’s holding the current favourite, Baby Annabell which is just like a real baby with realistic features .
When you talk to Baby Annabell she turns her head to the left or the right depending on where your voice is coming from in a very spooky manner. She babbles, gurgles and sucks on her dummy.
When she drinks from the water-filled bottle she makes sucking sounds and slowly opens and closes her eyes. Once she has finished drinking, she burps and falls asleep.
If she is woken by noise she cries - and real tears roll down her cheeks but singing soon hushes her!
Long gone is the day when a doll that wet itself and closed its eyes was the ultimate little girl toy.

Gosh you smell bad!

Gosh you smell bad!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

When I spotted this, I though it was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back.
But a with little research discovered that Quechua is a Native American language and the name of a company that sells light tents.
At first I though the made a lot of leaky tents as they were called Quechua Seconds, then realised that they only take seconds to erect.

Traffic Problem!

Even the smallest villages have
traffic problems these days.
Here a combine harvester wriggles
it’s way through Wellow.

From Wendy with Love!

Thank You friends for all the cards, expensive get well balloon and snazzy eye-patch.
More cards welcome!
Luckily for me Sam is now on one weeks holiday, so we celebrated his 63rd birthday on Saturday with him slaving over a hot barbecue so we enjoyed steak and salad.
I am lazing around following hospital orders,” no dusting or hoovering" no change there, then.
We will celebrate our 37th Wedding Anniversary on Tuesday.

Wendy

Rhinestone Eye Patch

The rumours that Johnny Depp has now moved to the area may be due to Wendy’s operation for a detached retina.
She has taken to wearing this Rhinestone Eye Patch, sent as a get-well present by Wendy and Mike at Funtastic

Johnny Depp in Bath

This is a couple of my unpublished (the others made Hello) pictures of Johnny Depp.
Taken in George Street in 2000 when he was staying at the Royal Crescent Hotel while shooting Chocolat in Wiltshire.
I wonder if the school girl knew who was walking behind her!

Pictures Copyright Sam Farr / The Bath Chronicle

Team Bath Warm Up

Sports have changed over the last ten years, in particular the stretching and warm up done by every team.
I watched an amateur rugby team warm up on Thursday and they were skipping and swinging alternate arms and legs looking much like the end of the Morecombe and Wise Show.
This is part of the Team Bath Football warm up!

Copyright Sam Farr / The Bath Chronicle

The Rabbit, The Rat, and the Tarantula.

The Rabbit, The Rat, and the Tarantula.
by Richard Southall.
In the window of 56 Colston Street Bristol.

John Foster Alms House

John Foster Mayor of Bristol founded this Alms House in1483.
A 9 frame join up with my little Fuji and Panorama Plus 3.

Organ Donor Register

Wendy is home from Bristol Eye hospital, the operation was a success but she has to take it quietly for the next two weeks.
No Bending or lifting or vacuuming (she didn’t anyway) so I’m at her beck and call (no change there then).
This is a sign in the hospital lift, please read it and register now!

Alien Life

I’m not sure if he’s going to Roswell or coming back, either way it’s a long way from Bristol!

Latest Wendy News

Today’s picture of Wendy, she is due home from Bristol Eye Hospital tomorrow and will have to be quiet for a few days.
She says it was an incredible experience watching them sew her eye up from the inside!

Latest update on Wendy.

Wendy had her detached retina repaired this morning, and according to Nicky is not in pain and as she stayed awake says she enjoyed the operation.

I’m just off to Bristol to visit and will report later.

Sam

Note for Friends

Just to keep friends in the picture, the love of my life had a problem with one of her eyes over the weekend.
She visited the optician this morning and was referred to RUH casualty; they diagnosed a detached retina and sent her to Bristol eye hospital.
She was due to have an operation at 5.30 tonight but it was postponed at the last moment.
She has stayed in overnight, and hope to have the operation early tomorrow.
More details to follow on Tuesday.

Sam

Sorry the picture is forty years late!

Canoe

It looks like we have more new neighbours; village gossip says that they have come from Texas.
And even brought a canoe, the removal man even gave me a demonstration of dry land canoeing.

Home Photobooth

I used one of my old ideas for photographing children today.

First you put the camera on a tripod in front of a mirror, and then connect a remote release.
Then the child can take a picture when they like.
This is Lottie and Tabitha today, if you want to see their mum Helen doing the same 25 years ago, it’s back on 19^th of July.

Tesco Bargain

Dash to Tesco Midsomer Norton before this offer ends!

Giant of Bee's

Bath is a regular winner of Britain in bloom, helped by the brilliant displays in the Parade Gardens.
This year it’s populated by giant bee's on a giant flower.

Lottie is Two

Lottie is two today, this is her new fairy
toadstool house that Nicky and Andy bought for her.

Parade Gardens Bath

Visitors enjoy a rare sunny day in Baths Parade Gardens last Friday
The Parade gardens are owned by the houses
in North and South Parade.
All the owners have keys to a private gate, the council
just rent the gardens, and charge admission to visitors.
The picture is composed of five vertical frames joined horizontally with Panorama Plus 3.

New Bath Hotel

The old Bath City College Gainsborough building in Lower Borough Walls is about half demolished.
As one of our neighbours Trevor Osborne converts it into a new luxury hotel.

Jesse Witney

Superior quality busker in Kingston Parade Bath.
Click the picture to hear him.

Elephant at Bristol Zoo

In the days before Health and Safety became the most important thing in the world.
Bristol zoo did elephant rides, both Wendy and I rode on Rosie the famous elephant that gave 80,000 rides a year to children but she died in 1961.
This is Wendy, an Asian elephant who arrived at the zoo in 1967 and lived there alone untill 1986.
Bristol Zoo elected not to replace her.

Haymaking in Combe Hay

Helen rents a field for her horses, today was haymaking day.
A local farmer cuts and bales it for half the crop, we just provide the labour to collect and stack it.
This year we collected nearly 300 bales, so had to find room to store 150.

Part of the load leaves the field.

Andy, Paddy, Helen and David with the part
of the load that didn’t fit in the stable.

Though we only cut it on one day once a year
the Google Earth view shows us cutting it in 2005.

Somersetshire Coal Canal

The North Somerset Coal Canal ran through Combe Hay from the early 1800’s until it was abandoned in 1898.
The canal is long gone but we do have a flight of 22 locks in the valley.
This is a view up the three locks that had been cleared for the first time in a 100 years by the local coal canal group.

Wikipedia entry for the canal

Redundant

With the Bath Chronicle going weekly in September and a good chance I shall be redundant for the first time in 63 years.
I thought it was a good-time to dig out this picture of Wendy taken during the last few weeks of the Dome.
She was running a youth training organisation at the time.

John Straffen Bath Murders

http://bit.ly/kRVf6q

I was working in Locksbrook Cemetery in Bath today on a story about the VCs buried there, when I spotted the sad site of these two children’s graves.
Six-year-old Brenda Goddard and nine-year-old Cicely Batstone were strangled by Britain’s longest serving prisoner John Straffen in 1951.
I was only 7 at the time but I remember the fear and anger in the population.
Straffen later escaped from Broadmoor for only four hours and another child died, although there are some reasons to think it wasn’t him, he was found guilty.

More Details and pictures from the Guardian and the Sun
Updated Picture Here 

Silly sun spec day

Come to Bath for silly sun spec day!

Water Slide

Nicky and Andy have bought a water slide for Tabitha and Lottie.
I think it was really for them, but here are the pictures they took today of Lottie getting sprayed and Tabitha taking a ride on Andy’s back.

Prior Park Landscape Gardens, Bath

“I wonder what happens if I turn if I turn this big tap”
The Cascade at Prior Park Landscape Gardens.

Peacock butterfly

I’m not much of an expert on butterflies with wings folded; well I’m not much of an expert on butterflies.
But I think this was a peacock butterfly that landed on our washing line today.

Click on the picture to count the hairs on a butterfly

Blow the Doors Off

Looks like someone in Trowbridge is preparing for an Italian Job!

Pet stroller

Believe it or not this is a Pet stroller for elderly of disabled pets.
It cost £115 and I think it’s for people with more money than sense!

Nicholas Cage is our new neighbour

About a mile along the valley that we live in is Midford Castle, the first picture was taken today when we went shopping, and the aerial shots in 2004 for the Bath Chronicle.
It’s a Grade one listed building and the aerial view of the castle reveals that it’s shaped like the ace of clubs.
Supposedly as a nod by Henry Disney Roebuck to the card which won him the fortune to build it back in 1775?
The interesting bit is that contracts have been exchanged and the new owner Hollywood star Nicholas Cage will take possession on Friday August the 31^st .

Pictures Copyright Sam Farr / The Bath Chronicle