Sunset over the Jamia Mosque

Taken from the Asda carpark about a month ago.

The extention to the Jamia Mosque on Greenfield Street is still under construction.

Donation appeals for funds were made in 2007 and 2008 and the three video appeals from YouTube can be found on Hyde DP Extra.

Today's post is also an early contribution this week to Skywatch Friday.

Lodge Lane Entrance to Hyde Park

This is the Lodge Lane entrance to Hyde Park at the opposite end to the Park Road entrance.

It is #1 in the bottom left hand corner of the Map of Hyde Park which has North at the bottom and South at the top.

Pedestrians and vehicles are neatly seperated here by a low wooden fence.

To the left of the metal fence is the railway line to Glossop.

Theatre Royal Trust Battles On

I've delayed posting this photograph of the Theatre Royal Trust's charity stall on the market some weeks back as their old website has been offline due to a hosting problem not of their making.

The Trust are battling to bring the theatre back into use. My own pictures of it, taken mostly from the Heritage Open Days in 2006-2008, can be seen at Theatre Royal Hyde.

The theatre trust now has a new website at http://www.theatreroyalhyde.co.uk/ which is currently under construction.

The Lows of Christmas

Whilst most places were shut on Christmas Day, the Shell filling station on Dowson Road was open and busy as usual.

It wasn't however until I downloaded this photograph on to the computer that I realised that the word marked on the road has been reduced to LOW.

Kirkley Street on Christmas Day

Kirkley Street is off Dowson Road and like all such side streets had not been gritted.

In the background is the tower of St George's Church.

Twas a White Christmas

This was the scene near the Swains Valley allotments just after midday yesterday.

Merry Christmas from Hyde

Hyde Town Hall is lit up for Christmas, and even the Hyde Seal is illuminated.

I wish a merry Christmas to all my readers and would like to remind you that there is still time to vote for the Best of Hyde 2009 photograph of the year.

Anyone Need a Pram?

The Alternative Life Style shop on Market Street may have closed down, but just higher up is the Sobrinca Factory Shop.

Babies must be doing well as this shop moved from smaller premises higher up Market Street some time ago.

Waiting for the Morning Bus

This was yesterday morning at 9.15 am, waiting for a bus to Ashton under Lyne.

Compare it to the similar view in June.

Although the pavements haven't been cleared, the road is clear and traffic is flowing freely.

I was on my way to Tameside General Hospital for a routine clinic appointment. What happened to the weather afterwards is told on my personal blog Ackworth born, gone West.

Snowy Bench

The first heavy snows of winter came on Thursday night.

By mid-afternoon next day bright sun had melted snow on the roofs. The roads and pavements had been gritted and around the corner, Clarendon Mall was busy with shoppers.

This bench seems to have been isolated on an island of snow. Someone has discarded gloves or a woolly hat on the bench. What is in the two black bags by the bus stop, I have no idea.

That was Friday, we've had even more snow since.

Hounds Behind The Snow

The snow kept falling in batches yesterday.

Just after lunch it was briefly sunny. I looked out and could see the Hare and Hounds up on the Low. As I pointed my camera out of the window and zoomed towards it, the snow started falling again.

I've had to enhance the photo a good bit to bring out the details but I've not reduced the colour at all.

Compare the view with the one I took of the first frost.

About an hour and a half later the snow had settled and I took a follow-up photograph which you can see on Hyde DP Xtra.

Vote for Best of Hyde 2009

As in the previous three years, it is now time to vote for the Best of Hyde Daily Photo 2009.

There are twelve contenders.

Readers may cast six votes distributed in any manner they choose. You can give all six to a single photograph, one vote to six different images, or divide them between two, three or four pictures.

The thumbnails above are merely representative crops of the full sized photographs which can be found at Best of Hyde 2009, along with a voting form.

Please use the form to vote. Votes given in comments here will not be counted.

The results will be published in January 2010.

First Snows of Winter

We had our first real snow of the winter on Thursday night. It was nowhere near as severe as the snow in many other parts of the UK and the sun came out in the late morning.

This is looking across from the Garside Street entrance to the Trans Pennine Trail towards the Swains Valley Allotments and Merkland Street.

The Lights on Market Street

Earlier this month I showed you the start of the Christmas Lights on the Shepherds Call.

Now they are all lit up. This was the view last Saturday looking up Market Street from the middle of the pedestrian crossing below the Town Hall.

Another view of the lights by the market can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

For vistas around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

Hollingworth Brass Band at Christmas

Whilst the carol singers were at one end of the mall on Saturday, some young members of the Hollingworth Brass Band were near the Market entrance.

Clarendon Street Viaduct

The Viaduct on Clarendon Street was erected in 1904 bridging the valley of Godley Brook.

Until recently it wasn't possible to lean over the edge of the parapet to view these arches. The ground was filled with industrial machinery and fenced off, but has now been cleared.

From the other side of the road you can look over on to factory roofs.

A faded stone on the side of the viaduct commemorates its construction - view it on Hyde DP Xtra.

The Line to Glossop

The railway line to Glossop between Flowery Field and Newton stations, viewed from Lodge Lane.

Hyde Mill Demolition Continues

The demolition of Hyde Mill which started in September continues apace.

I have post-processed this image to highlight the edges. You can view the original photograph on Geograph.

There are two more photographs on Hyde DP Xtra.

Carols in Clarendon

Yesterday these musicians were leading the carol singing in Clarendon Mall.

Bargain Booze

As a teetotaler I'm not showing this to advertise the off-license, but for its architechtural interest.

At first sight it looks like a very old building with its wooden beams on the end. In actually fact the original building would have been just one end of a Victorian terrace. Part of the terrace has obviously been demolished, opening up the land for a carpark. The exposed end has been attractively restored.

Newton Lodge Columns

The four pillars which form the basis for this seating area in Hyde Park are the only remains of Newton Lodge. The Lodge was the home of the Ashton family who gave the park to the people of Hyde in 1902. When the park was refurbished in 2000 the pillars and the two benches were used to provide a setting for the memorial stone "Lest We Forget" which had previously lain in one of the gardens.

A closer view of the memorial stone can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

A closer view of one of the benches can be seen on Ackworth born, gone West.

The Old Bricklayers

The Bricklayers Arms on Reynold Street closed over three years ago.

I showed you how it looked in January 2007 after conversion to a residence.

It hadn't changed much until recently. Now the outside has been re-plastered.

Road Markings on Dowson Road

About a week ago, I showed you the new tarmac on Dowson Road near the junction with Waverley Road.

Here it is now after the white-line markers have been and painted the road.

B & Q & £-stretcher

Next door to the B & Q store on Manchester Road is Pound-Stretcher.

Although the latter have recently moved into the old Woolworth's, I understand that this branch is staying open, at least until the New Year.

The "To Let" sign refers to the building on the left which used to be the Aldi store until they moved into new premises further down Manchester Road near Over Yonder.

Werneth Low over Alder School

Looking from Grange Road South over Alder School towards Mottram Old Road and Werneth Low.

The original photograph has been post-processed as a pencil sketch.

Entrance to Hyde Hospital

Just lower down Grange Road South from Dale Grove School is Hyde Hospital.

It no longer functions as a fully-fledged hospital. Much of it now consists of sheltered housing although there are also a number of ancillary health units on the site.

Rowan House which can be seen here is used by the Child Development Unit.

Dragon Rock

The "Alternative Life Style" shop on Market Street closed down a few months ago.

When it first opened a few years ago it seemed to specialise in selling Gothic clothing, occult paraphernalia and I'm not sure what else. Over the years its sideline venture of T-shirt printing appears to have developed into its main income source.

Christmas Starts Here

Christmas starts here, or rather Hyde's Christmas lights on Market Street start here with the one attached to the lamppost outside the Shepherds Call.

The next one down is on the corner of Church Street and can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

I took these a few weeks ago before the lights were switched on.

From today you can start voting for Hyde Daily Photo of the Year 2009. There are twelve contenders. Everyone has six votes to cast in the manner they choose. The winner will be announced in January. The photographs and voting form can be found at Best of Hyde 2009.

Frosty Hare & Hounds

The last time I showed you the Hare & Hounds on Werneth Low was at mid-summer.

This was taken at 8.30am on the 1st December when the sun was just beginning to rise over the Low and melt the heavy overnight frost.

£-stretcher Open

Back in September I reported that £-stretcher were moving in to the old Woolworth's shop.

Well now, as you can see, they are open.

Waiting

I spotted these two ladies whilst I was waiting on the opposite platform for a train to Rose Hill.

They had missed the train for Manchester Piccadilly and there wasn't another due for 50 minutes as the timetable they are perusing would have informed them.

They would have been better off taking the steps to Manchester Road and getting a bus.

"Waiting" is the CDPB theme for 1st December 2009. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.