Fir & Fone...

Excitement!

Or at least I thought it was excitement.  

Suddenly this fire engine was stationed outside my window and I began to look at the neighbours to ensure they were not afire.  Then I noticed several firemen, all local volunteers on permanent standby, running about the park opposite.  Thanks however to the trees I could not see what they were running towards.  Soon a hose, a thin hose not the type used for major fires, was running across the road holding up the traffic.  

Why?

They did not say.    

Also annoying is the fact they usually post on facebook an account of any calls they make during the day, so far no comment has been posted. Even worse they took of quickly without letting me know and raced back to their actual jobs silently.

I must say it is some job being a part-time fireman.  We had one next door for a while, young an ambitious he soon took of for London possibly because he had just married.  Before then we often heard him at 3 in the morning running downstairs, bleeper bleeping, as he hurried round the corner to the station five minutes run away.  Most of these men have their own jobs, some self employed of course, but all share the same risks all firemen have to, accident and death occur sometimes.  

Tsk!  I will never get my nosiness fixed.

This brute, photographed in the wrong light, is giving trouble.  All technical things give trouble, including this laptop which keeps joining words together and spelling them badly!  

The phone goes mad on occasions.  It suddenly just spins through all the apps, the clock timer is set to go off 40 times a day, music form YouTube begins and canny be stopped, and this lasts for ages.  There is no way to stop it as it ignores instructions.  Holding the on/off key sometimes brings it to restart, but not always.  

It is old.  

As you know old things work well for years and suddenly bits fall off, it happens to us also.

So I am considering a modern upgrade from the same company.  This will be paid for by money accumulated from past Christmas gifts.  One I saw was only £149 and ought to do all I need.  I have not searched the ones reduced by £250 as they tend to begin at around £800.  Who needs to spend that on a mobile phone?  A business might possibly, someone who spends all day on their phone might, but not me, so this sounds OK.  

But I always hesitate when it comes to spending money, especially that much.  Surely, I think, surely a new microwave or whatever might be more important?  

So I hesitate.

Of course I cannot 'upgrade' this phone, the website no longer mentions this one, it is too old for them.  Surely I have only had it 10 years, or round about that?  But that is outdated these days.  Now I site here holding my bundle of £20 notes cogitating...

Henry Barlow Carter - Scarborough 185

Parade

 

Yesterday, Saturday, I took myself out twice!  Yes, I was surpised also.  

I limped around the park early on in an attempt to see how warm life was.  I was very surprised at the heat in the morning.  I wandered around the town and back home.  Later, I discovered the town carnival was to parade through the streets once again, it has been missing for some years now.  So, aroung half two I put on my new sun hat, grabbed the camera, discovered the battery was dying, grabbed the old Nikon instead, and headed of into the world.

 

Led as always by the fire brigade, the local men are all 'On-call firemen,' which means they must live within five minutes of the station.  They are called by Bleeper, which goes off at any time, day or night.  The fires they fight are just as real as all others.

 

This was a small parade this year, aimed at kids as always, and I sauntered along just to see the occasional item worth picturing.  I missed out on the girls twirling sticks, the women of unknown age dancing to bad music, and the several 'Carnival Queens' from various areas around.  I was more interested in this stolen police vehicle.

 

 

The ageing Mods are always there to show off their ageing scooters.  The picture does not show the pollution coming out of the back of some of them.  Most Sunday's these men gather outside one of the local 'Greasy Spoon Cafe's' and fill 'Little Square,' with their bikes.  I'm not sure how often the scooters are put to use at other times.

 

 

 

I tried a shot along the wall to catch all the crowd watching, but only this bot of the kid laughing was any use.  You will note his shirt has the Firemens Badge on the front, and he had been waving to the machine before it even got into the street! 

 

Only a couple of trailers this year.  I like to get pics of the kids, their faces as they sit there are always worth noting.  However, this camera is not that good and kept switching off.  It is also not very sharp at anything over ten feet.  I liked this one of mum picturing her kid.

 

And a motor bike or two at the end.  

Throughout the nation such 'Gala's' take place, usually old mining towns have them, nothing special in most, but the kids like them, a good day out of harmless fun if the sun shines.

Personally, I could do with something more exciting but it was good to be in the very hot sun, and the hat indeed helped.