The vagaries of my personal filing system mean that WME updates tend to be grouped into alphabetical batches, following a loose publication order based on the filenames. All very interesting (not!) except that it means Exploration Extra - by dint of a different prefix to the rest of my pictures - tends not to get any additions for ages, then they all arrive in a sudden rush...
So it is that March 2024 has been one of those unusual months where Exploration Extra has totally ruled the roost, bolting the door on any other gallery's attempts to sneakily smuggle their items through. The result is a wide-ranging set of arrivals taking us from Bristol to Edinburgh by way of Manchester, Cumbria and Derby with not a solitary West Midlands photograph in sight!
Let's start in the Lake District where my Kendal 2021 album must surely be one of the largest on my entire photostream (91 pictures and counting). The newer contributors here include Keswick (offering the Crafty Baa pub, Fitz Park and the Ruskin Monument), Derwent Water (complete with Friar's Crag viewpoint), Fell Foot Country Park (for attractive dry stone wall scenery) and Helsington (a flock of curious cows). These are all supported by Kendal itself which summons various holes from its putting green, not to mention yet more cuddly rabbit dolls from the cottage where we were staying.
Sticking in the North West, my Manchester 2021 cricketing collection is growing nicely thanks to the input of Cornbrook Metrolink branding, the Circus Tavern and Old Trafford - the football ground variety - with its clock commemorating the Munich Air Disaster. Cricket was likewise the underlying inspiration for my Bristol 2022 assemblage which currently amounts to two pub snippets (the Quinton House and the Kingsdown Vaults) plus a badger mural and a Clifton Down railway running-in board.
Slightly closer to home, Rail Rover 2018 busies itself with Cheltenham content focusing on the Stagecoach bus depot, the Vine pub and the very elegant Regency frontage to Cheltenham Spa railway station. Over in the East Midlands, Derby Ram Trail 2021 takes delivery of a further batch of ram-related sculptural snapshots (hello Poseidon!) not to mention some Normanton street signs care of the terraces near the Falstaff free house.
Last but not least, let's trek all the way up to Scotland for two doses of album accumulation. Edinburgh 2017 benefits from the presence of two Hibernian turnstiles from Easter Road stadium - hence the green colour scheme - plus a lobster-influenced nod to the Cafe Royal, whereas Southerness 2022 has a starter snippet of rusty chains on Kirkcudbright Harbour. April is scheduled to maintain the Exploration Extra monopoly but there could be some interesting gems coming our way so watch this space...
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