Tuesday 15 October 2013

Ten Photos

A '50 Thing' task I've been working on for a while is number 8 on my list  'Explore your neighbourhood in 10 photographs'. I live in a town called Paisley, which doesn't have the best of reputations. Over the years I've discovered the beauty of the town, which I hope will be reflected in some of these photographs.

Arts Centre
I love the Arts Centre building, a converted church (The Old Laigh Kirk), with graveyard still intact. I used to go to life drawing classes here and have also been to gigs/plays/dance performances at this arts venue. It's a great little place and one which I should make more use of. I used to also love the Haunt Bar upstairs, which sadly is no longer there...



Thomas Coats Church

Thomas Coats Church has got to be one of my favourite buildings ever - such amazing gothic architecture. The more I look at it, the more intricate detail I notice, and I really want to just sit for a whole day sketching parts of it. My Postgrad graduation ceremony was held here. I don't think I fully appreciated the beauty of the building back then.

Paisley Abbey














Paisley Abbey is another amazing building, so it deserves to be showcased in 4 photos. I've been to a service in here and it was amazing sitting listening to an organ playing in a building like this, with sunlight streaming through the stain glass windows. I love the corridor you walk along to lead into the main part of the building (If you turn right it takes you into the little gift shop and cafe). The year a medieval festival took place in the town there were lots of stalls outside the Abbey and I think an alchemist type stall was set up inside (I vaguely remember an old man holding something up in a jar...). Another year when the Witch Trial Reenactments Day took place, a woman dressed in old clothes told old witch stories in a corner of the Abbey (mainly to a group of children, plus me and two friends!).

Park
The Fountain Park is a great little green haven for me. On many a sunny day I have sat under a tree reading a book. Just outside the park is a cherry blossom tree - I always love seeing that in bloom, particulary because it signifies my favourite season, Spring. I took this photo a few weeks ago, just before the trees in the park turned to yellow and red.





Old Bedroom
Sma' Shot Cottages

A couple of months ago I visited the Sma' Shot Cottages for the first time. The cottages at the front were used by Weavers, and this part of the building was originally built in the 1740s. When you walk through the gardens you are taken to cottages 100 years on, which were used by Mill workers. Volunteers act as tour guides, explaining the history and little details of the times as they show you round the rooms. I was told that a woman who was a member of the Old Paisley society made sure the cottages were restored in order to preserve an important part of Paisley's history. The attention to detail in all of the rooms is amazing, with old hair pins laid out on dressers and button up boots by the beds. It truly felt like stepping back in time and is well worth a visit. There's also a nice tea room and shop.

I'll end this blog post with one of my favourite photos that I took about three years ago now, early one morning when it had been snowing heavily overnight, just as the sun was rising...Who knew my little town could be so pretty...



10 comments:

  1. I think your town looks beautiful, Vikki. These are such atmospheric pictures. I love the glorious light shining through the tree and the final scene of the snowfall in the early sun is just stunning. You have some magnificent buildings there.
    I would love to do this in my town. It is looking frayed around the edges these days with quite a few closed-down shops and run-down areas, but it is clear from your post that beauty is there, waiting to be found and captured. x

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    1. Thanks, Joanna. There's a lot of closed down shops and run down areas here too, so it was nice to capture some of the beauty and show it in a bit of a different light!

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  2. I've never been to Scotland, let alone Paisley, Vikki, so it's been really nice to follow you around your town. The churches and abbey are beautiful, and I should love to visit the little cottages one day. What stories they could tell!

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    1. Thanks, Jean. Scotland has so many beautiful places to visit- most people would say my town wouldn't be top of their list:) The volunteer guides at the cottages really know their stuff so it was an interesting tour

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  3. Yes, you've shown the beauty of the town.

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  4. Well done on showcasing such lovely aspects of the town, Vikki - last time I was there I was admiring the lovely architecture and Abbey.

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    1. It was fun photographing the buildings. Makes you really look at the place with new eyes!

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  5. The pictures you have chosen here are beautiful Vikki. Paisley Abbey is stunning inside - it just shows that you don't need to go very far to find stunning architecture and detail, and that often, buildings such as this which are right on our doorstep, are often those that we don't end up visiting very often or appreciate. Not any more!

    The imagery of the Sma' Shot Cottages reminded me of my visit last year to the Weaver's Cottage. I love all that history and the idea of the hair pins.

    The last image with the sun rising and the snow on the ground with the monument in the middle - that looks like a prize-winner to me! Great post and another challenge complete :)

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    1. Thanks, Rebecca. There's so many amazing buildings in Glasgow and Edinburgh too that I want to capture, so I think I need to add that onto my list of things to do!
      I'm so glad I took a photo that morning when the sky shone so pink - and birds are good at flying into my photos just at the right moment:)

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