Two's Company

The glorious Pier Head, Liverpool is now one of the most visited cities in the world.

Autumn is arriving (yay! my favourite season)....hdr really gave this scene at the Bluecoat chambers an Autumnal feel.

Retired from her life of guiding ships in and out of the port, HMS Lightship is now a cafe/museum through the day and a bar at night. She's a colourful addition to the waterfront although I did beef up the colour here as it was a dull day.

The famous view through the arch in the Albert Dock of the Liverpool skyline.

A small snapshot of life on the seafront....although most of our cities seem to have the obligatory big wheel these days.

These great vintage ice cream vans are parked up for the winter near the Albert Dock in Liverpool. They still add a lovely splash of colour though:)

The beautiful Royal Liver Building shot in HDR.

The incredible men of iron are rusting a bit these days, but still braving the waves 24/7 :)

This is Eleanor - a bird of prey at Wild wings sanctuary near Warrington, England.

This lovely roadside shrine was at Aphrodite's rock, near Paphos, Cyprus

The tall ship Stavros S Niarchos has moored for the winter again in the Albert Dock - she's a welcome sight :)

A unique viewpoint of the Liverpool waterfront.

Ethel the Eagle Owl watches a plane avidly as it passed over the British Wildlife Centre.

The beautiful Albert Dock with its new addition tall ship Stavros S Niarchos in residence for the winter.

The sunset this evening at Crosby, the first I've seen for ages. Boy...it was cold down there though! :)

At Exchange Flags, Liverpool.

This iron man looks as if he is peacefully sleeping. Just as well that he doesn't see the size of some of the waves that sometimes come towards him :)

The final coat of paint has been applied to a new version of a World War I ‘dazzle ship’ on the Liverpool waterfront. The dazzle technique was used in WWI to confuse enemy ships and U-boats as to the manoeuvres of Allied vessels. It was great to be able to walk down and see her today as part of the Mersey River Festival and WW1 commemorations taking place on the waterfront. 'Dazzling' she certainly is! :) Here's a bit more info for anyone interested - <a href="http://www.itsliverpool.com/news/bold-brilliant-thats-just-start/" rel="nofollow">www.itsliverpool.com/news/bold-brilliant-thats-just-start/</a>

A colourful big wheel on Liverpool waterfront.

Some of the feral cats in Liverpool's docklands are so used to me now that they will come and sit with me. They know I bring food of course, but even so it feels like a rare privilege. It's taken a while, I've been visiting them since early summer, but as you can see the matriarch of the group is looking out for other predators..not me :) I did my usual trick of not checking the settings of my camera again and took this with a high ISO, but I think the extra grain actually works quite well. This beauty lives in a gritty environment after all :)

A lovely old and decaying fishing boat at low tide - Meols, Wirral, England

Memories of a beautiful summer day in England.

A lovely flower that I came across.

This old Riley classic car contrasts against the Museum of Liverpool building.

Happy Christmas from the Iron men of Crosby! :)

Colourful fairground dodgems on the Pier at Brighton

The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) was built from 1609-1616 and is known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It is considered to be the last great mosque of the classical period.

I spent some time in the Lake district recently. I can't believe I live so close but have rarely spent time there. Peace and tranquility everywhere :)

I bought a new fisheye lens while in the US and this was my first outing with it. It has quite a lot of creative possibilities I think and I've still got quite a lot to learn about it.

A black and white version of the iron man at sunset, Crosby beach.

The beautiful Royal Liver Building on Liverpool's waterfront.

A lovely cat at Freshfields rescue centre where I work as a volunteer :)

The iron man at Crosby...wearing my hat and scarf :)

Her orange eyes are incredible :)

Spotted in Liverpool city centre.

Another Place is a set of 100 iron men sculptures by Antony Gormley. They are set out over 2 miles of beach at Crosby Liverpool.Each figure is 189 cm tall (nearly 6 feet 2½ inches) and weighs around 650 kg (over 1400 lb). In common with most of Gormley's work, the figures are cast replicas of the artist's own body. As the tides ebb and flow, the figures are revealed and submerged by the sea. It's a place that I never tire of!!