Dowson Road in the snow

After a couple of days of snow the main road is flowing freely having been gritted. The pavements however have not been cleared and are treacherous.

At the Shell filling station diesel is the same price as on New Year's Day but petrol has gone down a penny per litre.

Behind the leylandii on the right are a group of lock-up garages which you can see on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to Scenic Weekends.

Z is for Zone

The "Shoe Zone" store in Clarendon Mall had a sale on last week with a huge 50% off sign.

Look carefully though and you'll notice it actually says "Up to" 50%.

I did in fact buy a pair of shoes there on Saturday but I certainly didn't pay much less for them (if anything) than I'd have paid before the sale.

According to Wikipedia this is one of around 800 branches throughout the UK and Ireland and the Leicester based company sells approximately 30 million pairs of footwear per year, just under 1 pair a second.

For more takes on the letter "Z" visit ABC Wednesday.

New Year's Day Trees

Dowson Road from the green space at the top of Gower Road.

At the Shell filling station, behind the tall birch tree, petrol is a penny a litre dearer than it was on Christmas Day. although diesel is the same price.

The lock-up garages on the left are shielded by fast growing leylandii. There are actually three trees in a line, but from this angle they seem to merge into one.

For Skywatch Friday.

Bed Time Sign

Next to the signs for East Coast Hair & Beauty Internet Café which I showed you last year (two weeks ago) is this "Bed Time" sign.

However I don't think you'll get them for these prices any more as the premises are now occupied by "Barbers Express" - see Hyde DP Xtra.

For signs, signs.

Yellow Christmas

Very shortly after noon on Christmas Day, motorists were busy filling up at the Shell station on Dowson Road. Being one of the few days when the local superstores close, it probably had a little less competition than usual. Regular unleaded was 130.9 pence per litre and diesel 138.9 ppl.

See a selection of 89 photos taken all over Britain and Ireland around midday on December 25th 2011 on Geograph.

A contribution to Mellow Yellow Monday.

Wreaths outside the White Lion

My contribution to ABC Wednesday this week is a photograph of these wreaths on sale at just £3.95 a time (same price as last year) on the market ground outside the White Lion.

An advent wreath hung on the door is a tradition that several of my neighbours continue to observe.

Please visit Best of Hyde 2012 and vote for your favourite photos.

Shell open again

After its extensive refurbishment, the Shell filling station on Dowson Road is open again.

I noticed that unleaded petrol is priced at 128.9 ppl and diesel at 131.9 ppl which makes the former a penny dearer and the latter a penny cheaper than the price at Morrisons.

For Skywatch Friday.

Weekend Reflections: The Hot Crumpet

Reflected in the counter of the "Hot Crumpet" sandwich shop on Dowson Road are the roofs and windows of the terraced houses across the road. You may need to screw your eyes a bit to see them properly.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections.

No Need for Panic!

The day after the Government urged motorists to top-up but not panic-buy the Shell Garage on Dowson Road was seeing a steady stream of cars queuing up.

I'm told the queues at 7am were much longer.

Petrol was priced at 138.9 pence per litre and diesel at 145.9 ppl.

See how it looked 20 minutes earlier and a day later on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to Mellow Yellow Monday

Dwarf Daffodils

At Hyde Market on Saturday dwarf daffodils were on sale - £2 a pot or three for a fiver. The florist had laid his wares alongside the barriers protecting the bottom half of the market which is undergoing renovations.

See more of the display on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to

The price of Holly Wreaths on Hyde Market

Lots of people hang holly wreaths on their doors over Christmas. It is one of many pagan winter traditions that were incorporated into the Christian church. Check out the Christmas Holly for more information.

Holly wreaths were on sale last week by white-van man on Hyde Market for £3.95. I wonder what they would cost in other parts of the country or indeed other countries.

St George's Day on Hyde Market

England flags were flying from the stalls on Hyde Market last Saturday to celebrate St George's Day.

Beeley Street Car Park

Beeley Street car park is on the site of the former Hyde Lads Club

Now you could get yourself a parking ticket in the time it would take to read everything on the sign.

And then you discover the ticket machine is out of action (someone has attached a "penalty notice" to it!). There was a queue of people waiting to use the one at the other end of the car park.

An attached notice warns parkers to avoid leaving valuables on view (no responsibility - blame the victim).

Another notice informs that the council has donated £100,000 to local charities with money siphoned off the parking charges.

As you have to pay in advance you also have to guess how long you want to park for in order to avoid excess charges.

At times like this I'm glad I'm no longer a car owner.