Again, I didn't get good photos of all the birds, so I've just used the ones I thought looked best. There were about seven in total, including a sea eagle and I think a bald eagle.

I doubt the scars show in this photo.

You're right. He is very.


Sent by thought transference

So that's it, the end of the Show.
Don't fret, it's just the beginning of Otley...

Is it just me, or, does Bird Guy resemble Regular.Joe?

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Digging the pics, Sundae.

Welcome back to the internet!

Thanks, that show is much bigger than I expected. I agree the wood bowl is outstanding by any measure.

i have thoroughly enjoyed your pics. it was almost like being there

As mentioned before, the town is truly proud - and capitalising on - the fact that Le Tour is coming through on the 5th July. Le Grand Depart. In fact I came home to a letter just yesterday lunchtime telling me about road closures and parking restrictions. Apparently if I don't move my car from Boroughgate before 05.00 at the latest it will be towed away. Quel horreur!

Anyway, pretty much every business in town has formed a link to the Tour, window painting and bunting being the most popular. Here are some photos of Tour specific shop windows, and also some general shots of shops, courtyards, alleyways etc. It's a great place for small independents.

Oh don't be fooled by the weather. If you check the date stamps you'll see I was skipping about down in a very short space of time before it started raining again :eyebrow:

I can see both of these from my front room window:

A complex of retirement flats.
An art gallery which is one of the few eschewing the yellow jersey motif, going instead with the polka dots of the King of the Mountains.

These bikes are all over town.
They're a lovely sight.

Local butcher.

Jewellers showing the route.

Shop that sells soap pretending to be other things.
Nice presents, except I always worry people will take the gift at face value and then be really disappointed to find it is only soap. There is precedence for that - Mum was really excited by the little box of chocolates I sent her from Leicester, gutted to realise they were chocolate scented candles.

Heebies, where I still hope to work once I get used to already putting in 30-39 hours per week in my main job.

The market towards the end of the day as it was packing up.
it's small but well attended, I'll take a photo of it in full swing at some point.

The alleyways and courtyards are still a little bit of a magical mystery tour for me; I can't always remember which one leads where.

They're lovely though.

We're in real Walking and Cycling territory, the Gateway to the Dales.
So lots and lots and LOTS of cafes and tearooms.

Many have water for dogs outside, and pubs advertise that they are dog-friendly.

Two specialist alcohol shops.
I have been in to look. They sell quite extraordinary things. the beer shop sells a range by Voodoo Donut for example, as well as more seriously beery lines.

The proprietor in the wine shop told me of a time last Summer when a man just leaned into the open door, snagged the nearest bottle and took off down the street. The owner was so furious he chased him down, he said it was pure instinct. The man got away but dropped the bottle. It was actually a fairly generic bottle of sherry. When he got back to the shop he realised he'd left both his shop and till unattended. Luckily it wasn't a planned distration burglary, just a general scrote working on his own instinct - ie a criminal one.

He rearranged the shop after that.