The weather at the Astle Traction Engine Rally the other week was dull and rainy. While this meant there were umbrellas in abundance and raindrops of automotive paintwork – both attractive subjects for a photograph – it also made the act of making photos was far more troublesome, especially without the benefit of a weather-sealed camera.
It also meant that a lot of the exhibitors could be found sat inside their vehicles to escape the damp, as in this Rover 100 and Rolls Royce Wraith.
Sat in your dry car Looking out at passersby Don’t want to get wet
There was a considerable fleet of Land Rovers at the Aslte Traction Engine Rally. All neatly lined up in groups. Here are a couple of photos of two of the groups. I kinda feel that “pack” would be a better collective noun for this sort of vehicle.
Four wheels to the floor Steady footing on soft ground For roving the land
While looking for interesting details inside the cabs of vintage vehicles, I came across one with a bowler hat on the bench seat. If an apple had been present, the feel of a Magritte painting would have been complete!
Ghosts of the classics Linger on in strange places Shame there’s no apple
The rear wheels and tyres on this Lanz Bulldog tractor are huge. Normally – for a tractor – this wouldn’t be unusual, but this particular example is kitted out as a car. It looks distinctly hot-rod-ish in style, although I doubt the engine is up to making much speed.
Bulldog vehicle With back wheels like a hot-rod A disguised tractor
Many traction engines are painted in matt-black but others, such as the one shown here – the Denby Maiden – are painted in bold colours – in this case a green body and vivid, banana-yellow wheels. Had the sun been out I’d have likely made some photos on colour film, but it wasn’t, so I didn’t.
I’ve seen many lovely colour photographs made on dull, overcast days, but my success rate in such conditions is not stellar and, as a result, I tend to stick to bright, sunny days for my colour film use.
Our cat is home now and we’re very glad to have him back. He’s not too happy about being confined to the house for the next few days though, and I’m not particulalrly excited about having to clean out his litter tray either (especially the fragrant “incident” he produced this morning :D), but those are the responsibilities of having animals in the family. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
See these vivid scenes Reduced to monochrome sights On dull British days
A few more traction engine photos from the Astle Traction Engine Rally for today’s post, mostly because it’ll be quite quick to post them as I need to go out shortly.
Our cat will be home soon – my wife has gone out to pick him up from the vets. He’s doing much better and is eating food again, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing him when he’s back.
More traction engines I hope you don’t get fed up Of seeing such things
Today’s photo was taken (along with a bunch of others that I’ll be publishing here shortly) at the Astle Traction Engine Rally a couple of weekend’s back. Normally I would’t travel as far for one of these events but, as the two similar rallies closer to home have been cancelled this year, and as some other photographers I know were going, I decided to make the journey.
Our cat is still not home although the vet called to say he’s making a bit more progress – he’s started to lick his lips and has attempted to eat some food (although not with complete success) today. We shall await a further update tomorrow as he’ll be staying at the vets for at least another night.
Smoky old engine Chugging, puffing, and smoking Burning through its coal
I’ve always thought that the name you choose for this particualt fairground attraction defines you as a person to a degree. Are you someone who loves the anarchy and destruction of ramming your car into your fellows? Or are you the type that thrills at the near misses and skillful escapes required to avoid impacts? I’ve always fallen into the latter group, eager to avoid conflict and trouble where possible in my life. This is complete cod-psychology hokum of course (although I wonder if someone has done a study? 😉 ), but it serves a purpose for today.
After yesterday’s unhappy experience of our cat being hit by a car, we’ve had to take him back to the vet today. Although he was drinking a little yesterday, it soon became apparent that he couldn’t eat – although he was cleary hungry and was pestering us for food. So this morning, following the advice from the vet yesterday, we took him back so they could make sure he got some fluids and nutrition. They decided it would be wise to sedate him and give him a more thorough examination than they could yesterday, including an x-ray, so my wife took him this morning and left him there to be looked after.
We received a call this afternoon that is tongue was not only bruised, but also lacerated, so they have had to put some stitches in. His cheeks were swollen and they’ve also removed some loose teeth. He’s been in the wars somewhat and has been very lucky that it wasn’t much more serious than it was. We should be able to pick him up in the morning and get him on the road to recovery. Fingers are crossed that he will be ok.
I’m hoping he’s a dodgem type cat and will evade any further problems.
Dodgems or bumpers? What kind of car do you choose? I dodge and don’t bump.
Usually, when I go downstairs, I’m greeted by our cat. He’s either on the back garden when I open the blinds, or is waiting inside the utility room. He’s almost always awake and ready for his breakfast. This morning he wasn’t there when I opened the blinds, but as it had been raining I wasn’t surprised, and when I opened the door into the utility room he was laid in his bed, waking at the sound of my entry. At first I wondered about this slightly unusual occurence, but then my eyes alighted on a stain on the edge of his bed and, swiftly after, some blood on his forepaw and a lot of blood around his nose and mouth.
Bending down to get a closer look I could see he’s suffered some sort of injury. My first though was that he’d been in a fight with another cat, or perhaps a bigger animal. Whatever the case, I was alarmed and quickly grabbed my phone to ring the vet’s out-of-hours service. I was able to get an appointment for him to be seen at 10am. While his face, particularly his lower lip, looked to be a mess, he was walking around and not limping. He was very subdued though and showed no interest in being fed.
He was quite vocal in his cat-carrier during the car ride to the vets, which in a way was a relief. He never likes trips in the car like this and the fact he was making is displeasure known was much better than silence. After arriving at the vets – due to Covid restrictions – we had to wait outside and explain to a member of staff what the problem was. Someone then came and collected him from us and told us to wait and that they would call on my wife’s mobile phone when the vet had assessed his condition. After a 15-minute wait, we got the call. The vet was under the belief that he had been struck by a car as he had some damage to his claws and pads which is a common injury in such events. He looked to have taken a knock to his head which raised concern about injuries to his bones -perhaps a fractured jaw – but the vet was confident that this wasn’t the case. He’d not shown too much distress or signs of extreme discomfort when being examined and his reactions, alertness, and vitals were all good. He had a nasty graze on his cheek and lower lip and a bruised tongue however.
The vet advised a dose of pain relief and anti-inflamatory, along with further liquid pain medication for us to administer from the next day – although we were to watch and make sure he was eating and drinking. Because of the discomfort with his tongue and mouth, there is a chance he may need to go back to the vets to be tube-fed is he can’t manage to eat and drink himself. While I’ve not seen him eat anything yet (he’s been asleep most of the day) he did have a decent drink of water from his bowl earlier, which was good to see.
We’ve decided to restrict him to the house this evening (and dug his old litter tray from the garage!) so that we know he’s safe overnight. Fingers crossed he will be on the mend soon. It’s at times like these when you realise just how much these little friends weedle their way into your life and heart.
Not much of a photography post today I suppose, but it is what it is.
Cats can be worries Attempting to use nine lives In their adventures
Steel City Snapper photography 