Stuff: Top Ten Blog Posts 2019
Over the last twelve months I have posted 68 blog posts to the blog. This is less than in 2018 when I published 89 posts. However most of the 89 posts in 2018 were from the Gromit Unleashed 2 trail across Bristol. I did post 24 televisual advent calendar posts in 2019 so this boosted the total.
Most of the top ten posts are nostalgic posts about Bristol in the 1990s…
There are in reverse order starting off with the tenth most popular post on the blog.
https://jamesclay.net/bristol-harbourside-in-the-1990s
https://jamesclay.net/bristol-harbourside-in-the-1990s-2
Stuff: Top Ten Blog Posts 2018
Over the last twelve months I have published 89 posts.
The tenth most popular post on my personal blog was Cinematic Advent Calendar #07 – The Eagle has Landed.
In at number nine, is one of a few posts about the harbourside in Bristol, Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s Part Five
Eighth most popular post, was about how Trenchard Street in Bristol had changed from the 1970s to today.
At number seven, was a post about the Bryan Brothers’ Garage Demolition, Bristol, in 1999.
The sixth most popular post was about A nice clean new shiny Millennium Falcon as would be seen in the Solo: Star Wars Story film.
The post at number five was a post containing photographs from the harbourside in Bristol. Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s
Fourth most popular post was Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s Part Three. This was another post containing photographs from the harbourside in Bristol.
Post at number three, Changes at the railway station, was how things have changed at Weston-super-Mare railway station.
Second most popular post was some photographs from the Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s
The most popular blog post this year was Cinematic Advent Calendar #05 – Leon.
23. Featherertron 3000
This was a real challenge to photograph, in the main as Bristol Energy Hub was always closed when I visited.
This was my second attempt to photograph 23. Featherertron 3000 which was behind a window. The first time the place had closed as it was Sunday after 4pm and on a repeat visit to get a photograph, the place had closed for a meeting for four hours….
That was my second visit.
On my first attempt, it was a Sunday and the Bristol Energy Hub had closed earlier, but you could at least see the sculptures inside the window, but this was virtually impossible to photograph due to the light reflection on the window as you can see.
Taking photographs through a window is really challenging, especially when the sculpture is black and there is bright sunshine behind you. Disappointed that this Feathers wasn’t more accessible.
Back in 2015 I attempted to see and photograph all 70 Shaun the Sheeps I managed to get 62. This time I am aiming to get all 67 sculptures. I have created this page to record all the sculptures we find. Download the app to find the sculptures.
17. Long John Wallace
Probably supposed to be guarding the Bristol Harbourside, 17. Long John Wallace seems to be enjoying a cup of tea, no doubt laced with rum.
It’s sometimes the little touches that make these models special, notice the parrot (which I missed when I was there), the wooden leg, but also the gold tooth.
Back in 2015 I attempted to see and photograph all 70 Shaun the Sheeps I managed to get 62. This time I am aiming to get all 67 sculptures. I have created this page to record all the sculptures we find. Download the app to find the sculptures.
29. Alex the Lion
Gromit as a lion? Well 29. Alex the Lion is one of my favourite sculptures this year and I think Gromit works very well as a lion.
Alex the lion is a character from the Madagascar films. I like the mane effect.
Alex can be found just outside the MShed guarding the Harbourside. I was a little surprised that there are three Gromit in and around the MShed and a Wallace in Whapping Wharf. Not quite sure I understand why they grouped these, but then put others in the middle of nowhere! Ah well.
Back in 2015 I attempted to see and photograph all 70 Shaun the Sheeps I managed to get 62. This time I am aiming to get all 67 sculptures. I have created this page to record all the sculptures we find. Download the app to find the sculptures.
Stuff: Top Ten Blog Posts 2017
The ten most popular posts from 2017 in reverse order.
9. Trenchard Street, Bristol, circa 1970s
8. Things never said in the office…
7. Cinematic Advent Calendar #05 – Leon
6. Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s Part Five
5. Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s Part Four
4. Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s
3. Bryan Brothers’ Garage Demolition, Bristol, 1999
Stuff: Top Ten Blog Posts 2016
Across this blog I wrote fifteen posts in 2016. As might not be expected most of the top ten posts that year were from 2016, and I was pleased to see how popular my 1990s photographs of the Bristol Harbourside were.
I visited Legoland in 2013 and felt that it was A bit tired and this was the tenth most popular post, dropping one place from last year.
Also about Legoland Miniland was the ninth post.
The eighth post was about Time travelling by train which was a post on the newly painted GWR High Speed Train in the classic 1970s blue and yellow.
The seventh popular post was inspired by a newspaper article and talked about the many Changes at the railway station in Weston-super-Mare.
The sixth placed post was from my 2012 series of Cinematic Advent Calendar posts, this one was #07 – The Eagle has Landed. There were quite a few films in the advent calendar that have significant memories over and above the film itself. Queuing for Star Wars was significant for example. With The Eagle has Landed I went to see it at the Aldeburgh cinema with my grandparents.
When I used film, I didn’t take than many photographs, but I did take a fair few of the Bristol Harbourside, so the fifth post was of the Bryan Brothers’ Garage Demolition, Bristol, circa 1999.
Three of the next four posts were similar and all contain photographs from the Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s.
Fourth was this post Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s and third was this one: Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s (second part).
The second most popular post was a comparison of Trenchard Street, Bristol, circa 1970s and the view today.
The most popular post of the year on the Stuff blog was a series of photographs of Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s.
So quite a few posts from 2016 in the 2016 top ten.
Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s Part Six
Back in the 1990s when I was teaching at a college in Bristol, I use to undertake regular field trips to the Bristol Harbourside as part of a unit on urban regeneration. There was at the time to much happening down there after years of inaction that it was an ideal place to demonstrate the impact of investment and change of use. Bristol had been an important port for hundreds of years, this all came to a halt in the 1970s and regeneration plans were developed. Not much happened for twenty years, but in the last twenty years we have seen major regeneration of the area, massive building of offices, business, residential and entertainment, as well as visitor attractions such as at-Bristol (where incidentally I worked for a while when it opened).
During one of those field trips, I took my SLR camera with me, and digging around a box in the garage I found the prints, which I have since scanned in. This is the final post on these images, you can find part one, part two, part three, part four and part five.
Before the advent of North Sea gas most towns and cities had gasworks that turned coal into gas which was then used for heating and cooking. Down in the harbourside were the Bristol Gasworks. Back in the 1990s these were no longher used for making gas and were in a state of decay, but they were still used for storing North Sea gas. Since then the gas storage has been removed. The buildings were listed and due to the contamination on the site it took many years before they could be used for something else.
You can see from this 2005 image that not much had changed in the preceding ten years to the gasworks building, but around it there was a lot of building and regeneration.
On the other side of the harbour this view is now dramatically different as a range of houses and apartments have been built.
Even in the 1990s we already had a fair bit of development already done.
A view up the harbour looking towards the SS Great Britain on the right.
At this point the SS Great Britain had been back in Bristol for twenty years and was looking splendid. She didn’t have the fake water glass thingy representing water as she does now, but she was in pretty good condition and the team restoring her had done an excellent job.
One aspect of the harbour which doesn’t change is the need for dredging.
If you were here today you could turn around and walk over Pero’s Bridge, back then you needed to walk around. Over on the left is the Watershed.
Overall it was interesting to see what had changed in the last twenty years and also what hadn’t.
Bristol Harbourside in the 1990s Part Five
Back in the 1990s when I was teaching at a college in Bristol, I use to undertake regular field trips to the Bristol Harbourside as part of a unit on urban regeneration. There was at the time to much happening down there after years of inaction that it was an ideal place to demonstrate the impact of investment and change of use. Bristol had been an important port for hundreds of years, this all came to a halt in the 1970s and regeneration plans were developed. Not much happened for twenty years, but in the last twenty years we have seen major regeneration of the area, massive building of offices, business, residential and entertainment, as well as visitor attractions such as at-Bristol (where incidentally I worked for a while when it opened).
During one of those field trips, I took my SLR camera with me, and digging around a box in the garage I found the prints, which I have since scanned in. This is the fifth post on these images, you can find part one, part two, part three and part four.
Prince Street Bridge was originally a two way bridge when this photograph was taken. At some point in the last ten years I think, half was pedestrianised. Currently it is closed to all traffic.
One of the earliest developments in the Bristol harbourside was the Lloyds bank development which was built and opened in the 1980s. Here is the view of the amphitheatre which is often used for events.
Then the next lot of photographs are taken from the ferry, which still steams around the harbour.
The MV Balmoral is moored up next to the sadly missed Industrial Museum (the M Shed is no replacement)
Slightly different view of the previous shot.
The Arnolfini is just out of shot to the left in the final photograph of Prince Street Bridge.
