Bits and pieces, news, views, reviews and stuff
Roll up, roll up. Welcome to the Greatest Dog Show on Earth! Ringmaster, with a flair worthy of P.T. Barnum himself, is decked out in a tailcoat and perfectly balanced top hat. Let this show-stopping pup entertain you with all the thrills and spills of the circus!
As cold as ice and hiding in plain sight, Feathers has undergone a super cool makeover. Like Hans Christian Anderson’s Snow Queen, Frostbite commands power over his magical frozen landscape, chilling everyone to the core with his icy stare.
“If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.” In partnership with Richard Curtis, the writer and director of the hit film ‘Love Actually’, Gromit is re-imagined as a pup in love. To us, Gromit, you are perfect!
Season five teaser trailer has dropped.
Over the last few years I have visited France quite a bit.
I first visited France as a child where it was a regular destination for family holidays, day trips and school exchanges. There was then about a ten year gap. I remember doing a ferry trip to Caen in the mid 1990s, and visiting Honfleur.
I then didn’t visit France until September 2018 when I took the train from London to Brest in Brittany, via Paris, for a library conference. It was quite a fleeting visit. I travelled from London on one day and then travelled back the following day. Arriving at Gard de Nord on the way back I realised that I had been to Paris, but in name only. I had a little time before I needed to pass through passport control, so I popped out onto the street. Took a few photographs and admired the street scene.
My next visit to France was a holiday to Brittany in 2019. We also went to France the following year this time staying in Picardy and visiting Paris.
Last year I was in France again on a driving holiday to France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium.
I did a day trip to Calais and Dunkerque earlier this year.
In July I did another holiday to France staying outside Calais in Guines. This is a lovely French town complete with shops, a regular market and some nice historical buildings. It was more of a base for us, but I did explore some of the town when I was there.
As my train was delayed, I was able to get to Temple Quay to photograph a fourth sculpture. Wasn’t planning to get four done today but pleased I did. However, these are all the four which are close to my office. I think I will need to spend some days off or weekends to get them all in before the end of August.
The terror of the deep, Predator, rises fast and flipperous from the ocean’s depths. His razor-sharp fin slices the surface, as his eyes lock on the target. Disguised as a shark and just as deadly, watch your toes when taking a dip.
My first Feathers sculpture was hiding outside Bristol Temple Meads, despite arriving by train earlier that day, I didn’t see him until later when I made my way back to the station to catch my train home.
Re-imagined in collaboration with Netflix from the smash-hit series, Wednesday is mysterious with a calculated flair. Smart and sinister, Wednesday joins the trail bringing her signature deadpan look to the streets of Bristol.
At the front of St Mary Redcliffe church was Treasured Island.
Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, our globe-trotting Gromit will help you discover world heritage sites and rare wildlife. Perhaps the real treasures are the Gromits you find along the way…
The first of the Gromits in the Gromit Unleashed 3 trail I captured was Aladdin which was (literally) hiding in the heart of the St Nicholas Market. It was a bit of a hunt to find him, but there were some paw prints leading the way.
Inspired by the classic tale from Arabian Nights, Aladdin twinkles at every turn with jewels, gold and riches, inspiring magic and joy through the realms of his wondrous adventures.
So, 2025 sees another trail featuring Aardman’s characters from Wallace and Gromit.
Back in 2015 I attempted to see and photograph all 70 Shaun the Sheep sculptures I managed to get 62. In 2018 I was aiming to get all 67 sculptures and was successful.
This year there are 53 sculptures across Bristol. The plan is to visit and photograph all of them between now and the end of August.