On the dry dock… happy birthday Madiba

An outing of a group of artists to the Algoa Bay Yacht Club yesterday yielded all sorts of interesting subjects (for painting and photography!) Duncan Stewart was drawn (hehe) to the view of Free Spirit getting some t.l.c. on the dry dock.And dry dock is perhaps a fitting way to lead into the significance of this day.... because our loved and highly respected past President, Nelson Mandela, turns 90 today. He may be in dry dock now, retired and needing…

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Boardwalk Casino & Entertainment Complex

The Boardwalk is situated just accross the road from Hobie Beach and has over the years become one of Port Elizabeth's prime beachfront attractions for both local as well as international visitors. The complex was built around the man-made Boardwalk lake. The main feature of the complex is the casino, although you don't have to go to the casino to go to the Boardwalk. There are also numorous restaurants, cinemas, shops, a craft centre, amphitheatre as well as kiddies entertainment…

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Parliament Street again

We recently featured the top section of Parliament street, which is undergoing an upgrade, and had some interesting feedback in the comments from one of the property owners in the area. We also showed the cafe in the middle.This is lower down the hill. I love driving or walking down this street and arriving at this point with a glimpse of the bay in the gap, and recently painted buildings on the left. The beige one on the extreme left…

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Harvard

This old beauty was spotted at the South African Airforce Museum last weekend, undergoing a facelift. In the background you can see a Trojan T28 training plane, part of the very impressive stable of local aerobatics legend Stu Davidson. If you are at all into aircraft, the museum is well worth a visit. It is not everyday you get a chance to get up close and personal with Mirage fighter jets, vintage planes and assorted helicopters all in one building!…

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Lift off

Here's a view of the Port Elizabeth Airport that is not commonly seen. Viewed from across the runway, a plane clears the ground as it gets past the arrivals hall of the airport. (It is a little blurry, but as you will realise, it was moving really fast!) It doesn't matter how many times I see this, or how much I know about the theory of aerodynamics, I still find it awesome when a huge heavy metal object full of…

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Woo-Hoo, The whales are back

If you are anywhere near the Southern coast of Africa in the next two months, don't forget that the whales are back! If you get a chance, take a drive along the coast and see if you can spot them. We went to Schoenmakerskop this afternoon, and had a wonderful time sitting on a bench, freezing our butts off and watching groups of them cruising past. We were delighted to catch a couple of them breaching. On the horizon there…

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Places of worship # ?

It's been a while since I remembered to post one in this series, so I have lost track of what number it is.... this is St Mary's Anglican Church down in the city centre. It has quite a checkered history, as it goes back to the very earliest days of Port Elizabeth. (And it is WAY too fascinating to stop at just 1 photo!)The town began in 1820 when boatloads of British Settlers arrived. Quoting from the historian Redgrave, who…

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You light up my life

If you have hung around this blog for any time now, you will have realised that I have a bit of a fascination for capturing the moon with all sorts of unlikely objects in the foreground. We also intermittently do a series on lamp posts around town. I guess this falls into both categories, the light in question is one of the large stadium lights used to illuminate the Westborne Oval (athletics and cycling track) for night events.

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A corner of town…

I love this street corner in Parliament Street.... because it has so many interesting elements, like your classic corner store, or the very acute angled corner building in the background, and the view of the sea peeping over the horizon. And if you stand and look down the street to the left, you get a stunning view across Russell Road to the graveyard, and the historic old NG Church in Richmond Hill...... a scene I painted recently.I had a phonecall…

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Sunrise over Hobie Beach

I was wondering what photo to use as the first photo on the blog, so I decided on a sunrise. And what better place than a sunrise over Hobie Beach here in Port Elizabeth. I don't often get a chance to get down to the beachfront for sunrise, but when I do I always try and get a couple of photos. You never know when that perfect shot shows itself. This photo was taken in April at the start of…

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