tarboat's photos

Burslem Snooker Club on Cleveland Street is the oldest billiard/snooker club in England. It was opened in 1913 and still uses the same tables. This is rather earlier than I would have guessed from the architecture which I would have put in the 1920's.

The area around the Market Place in Stockport is very rewarding to anyone interested in terracotta architecture. This magnificent frontage is somewhat spoiled by the crass modern alterations at ground level but this cannot detract from the sheer exuberance and excessive decoration above.

Detail from building in Stockport Market Place.

Dene Quarry near Cromford lies just outside the Peak National Park. A highly productive operation which is undergoing expansion of the workings to the south. This view shows the tarmacadam plant.

This afternoon my son and I went in search of this species at a shallow pond on an old lime tip. There were dozens of them around in the warm sunshine and I was lucky enough to be able to capture this teneral female in the scrub nearby. When she matures the colours will be a rather more yellow-olive drab.

The more common form of female Azure Damselfly is a green and black marked insect whilst there is a blue form with more blue colour on segments 3-6 of the abdomen than the 'normal' green form. This example may be immature and could develop into the blue form but I have never before seen one this green/yellow with the extended colour on those segments. Looking for the subtle variations in markings and colour of this species is one of the joys of visiting ponds in May and June.

Pushing back from Xincheng tip on the Chengzihe system of the Jixi coal railways in Heilongjiang Province, North-east China.

The majority of Bollin Valley Longhorn herd is currently to be found at Styal where these heifers and recently born calves were enjoying the plentiful grass.

As it climbs into the hills the Huanan Coal Railway runs through a number of looping turns to gain height and this allows the photographer a second chance. After taking the previous view I was able to cut the corner and climb further uphill and run along the line to a new position to take this shot of the train of empty coal wagons as it slogs towards the summit.

Action on the Huanan Coal Railway in North-East China. I waited for a long time for this shot and the sun slowly moved round until it was only just shining on my side of the train. When it finally arrived the drifting exhaust put the locomotive into shadow. Oh well, it's still quite nice and I probably won't get another chance. :-/

Brothers Jabez and Samuel Wilkinson were working as builders and then started a new brickworks at Longbridge Hayes around 1924. A third brother, Joseph Wilkinson, joined the business and in 1934 they formed Wilkinson Bros (Burslem) Ltd. This company ran the new works until closure in the 1950s.

The little details of terracotta can be very pleasing. This decorated key brick is over the front door of my house which was built c1904. I suspect that this is a product of the Ruabon brickyards along with the rest of the facing brick seen here.

Always a spectacular sight is the Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) which breeds in muddy streams and rivers. This male was photographed alongside the River Dee in Cheshire.

The earliest large dragonfly to be seen in the UK is usually the Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense). This male was found around a marl pit in the west of Cheshire.

Winter sunshine on the Brunner Mond soda ash plant at Winnington viewed from Winnington Bridge.

Interior of the loading hoppers at the OMYA operated Dowlow Quarry. The powdery nature of the product loaded here results in the narrow delivery pipes and conical bases to the hoppers. The exterior view can be seen here .

Dalong Mine is one of the older sites operated by the Tiefa Coal Mining Administration in Liaoning Provice, North-East China.

Demolition of the boilers and powerhouse at the Winnington works of Brunner Mond. The coal fired power plant has been replaced by the gas fired CHP plant of which one chimney is visible rear right.