Friday 5 July 2013

Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt: The Beamish Edition


Hello you.

Last Sunday we took a trip to Beamish which, for those of you who didn't live close enough to first visit there on a school trip, is a 'living museum' - 300 acres of reconstructed period buildings including farms, villages and even a drift mine!

Eventually I will get around to sharing photos of the Suffragette Celebrations and re-enactments which was our main reason for visiting on that particular day however ... for now let me share some of the Scavenger Hunt items I found while I was there.

[If you want to play along with the Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt then make sure to visit host Rinda over at Gallo Organico for all the details.]

Item No.6: Someone or something taking a nap
After walking around half the site we stopped in The Town, for a sit down in the sunshine, on the hill listening to the silver band [like a brass band ... without the brass]. And James took full advantage of this moment of rest: 
 At first I just turned and snapped the photo of him, happy to get to cross another item off my list ... however ... 

... to be fair, taking photos of James napping is like shooting fish in a barrel  - not much of a challenge, he's a man who likes his sleep - but then ... my sister pointed out that, just behind him, there was another example of napping just waiting to be snapped.

So ... nonchalantly ... I slightly raised my lens to capture this teenager completely and utterly flat out in the background:
Now that's what I call a nap!

Item No.14: A stained glass object or a mosaic
I captured this stained glass screen inside the Masonic Hall in The Town.

Item No.11: An animal in a zoo, aquarium, nature preserve, etc.
Like Jurassic Park Beamish has quite a few animals in it's recreated vintage style settings. Unlike Jurassic Park ... none of them were dinosaurs, which was a shame as I still need to find one to tick off the list!

But what they did have was ...

A big pig down by the railway sheds at Pockerley Waggonway:
And a near-camouflaged pig up at Pockerley Old Hall:
And yes ... it was breathing. We checked. I guess it would also count as something having a nap!

Goats and chickens in the gardens of the Pit Village:
Not forgetting the pit ponies:
And perhaps the most important animal of the day ...
... the beautiful horse that pulled the carriage carrying the coffin for the re-enactment of the funeral procession of suffragette Emily Wilding Davison. [Much more on that when I blog the event another day].
 
And now for perhaps the category that appealed to me the most ...

Item No.7: A sign that is intentionally or unintentionally funny
This is a category of things that I have blogged about for years ... so it was great fun to seek out some genuine vintage signs for this one!

As it was a suffrage themed day I had to include at least on of their protest signs - not that there were many funny ones, obviously - but I must admit to smiling at the anachronistic slogan painted on the placard at the front of this mini-march:
Equality ... it like, totally rules. Y'know what I'm saying? Like, just, give us the vote already whydontcha? ;-)

Now then, dog lovers ... please don't be offended by this ... anyone who knows I'm dog-phobic may understand why this one caught my eye:
 [Fortunately I can smile and keep my tongue in my cheek while sharing this one!]
 
And this next one - from the pit pony field - displays an equally no nonsense, straight talking attitude:
 
No wishy-washy, health & safety blurb or nonsensical customer services speak there! Ponies bite. End of.

And finally ... one very specific set of instructions ...
But if everyone had paid heed to those rules ... then how would slapstick comedy have ever begun?

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If you're a history lover, like the outdoors, and love a day filled with amazing photo-opportunities ... and if ever find yourself up that way [near County Durham in the North East of England]  ...
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I'm having a short break [where I'll be seeking out some more items to cross off the hunt list!] so I'm not going to be online over the next few day. So, I'll catch up with any messages or emails as soon as I can afterwards.

See you soon.

Julie :-)

See you soon

14 comments:

  1. You have made a sterling dent in that scavenger hunt list - and I do love your pigs and hens. Our 'domestic' (non-canine and non-feline) friends don't get nearly enough photo exposure. Hoping you enjoy your break with lots of nice sunshine to boot.

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  2. Beamish is brilliant. It's years since I've been and now I'm thinking it's time to try to make a return trip..

    yes, the pigs are a favourite photo for me too

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  3. What great finds.
    I've just blogged my June in Numbers here:
    http://handmadebykirsty.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/june-in-numbers.html

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  4. Haha your sneaky photography makes me laugh and reminds me on school trips when we wanted to snap the interesting ensambles on the Germans and would pretend to take pictures of each other and really snap the fashion faux pas over their shoulder!

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  5. Fab photos - haven't been to Beamish for many years, we really must go back as it is such a lovely place.

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  6. The nap photo has to be scrapped (especially if it is his habit ;) and the "dogs will be shot" sign made me laugh out loud! Great take on the challenges Julie!

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  7. We have an album of signs that made us laugh, collected over the last thirty years.

    I must scan my favourite one about River Drama Sheep rescued, woman drowns

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  8. Some wonderful shots for the Scavenger hunt - - I laughed out loud the Ponies Bite! It's many years since we visited Beamish - and I have fond memories of a great day out when my children were small. Hope you have a lovely "break" - J x

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  9. I go to uni in durham, study history and haven't visted Beamish yet! I feel ashamed! Sounds like such a fun day out.

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  10. I wish I had known about it last time we were in Newcastle as I would have taken a drive to it. But it will be years before we are back! I love that all they used was "ponies bite"!

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  11. Fantastic scavenger hunt finds - I think it's the smiley faces on the suffragette sign that got me giggling.
    And I love pictures of men napping - there's been several posted so far and each one seems oddly poignant to me.
    Thanks for playing along,
    Rinda

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  12. Gorgeous stained glass and that napping photo is AWESOME!

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  13. What a great selection of finds - the teenager snoozing takes the top prize for me though! We had a great visit to Beamish a few years ago while holidaying in the NE - think I still have those pics to scrap!

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  14. Doing a catch up here Julie as I have been away and extra busy in the weeks preceding.
    Love your photos here at Breamish. I've not been there but this makes me want to go if I am in the area. Your signs made me laugh - very to the point!!

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