Unicorns

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is U for "Unicorns", so just where in Ashton might a couple of these mythical creatures be seen?

The answer is on this colourful coat of arms below the clock tower of Ashton's Market Hall.

I'm afraid I could not find out what this particular coat of arms is and what it is doing there. Nor could I find out why unicorns are featured. If anyone knows, please let me know through the comments.

It was not the coat of arms for Ashton - that was different and the shield from Ashton's coat of arms is carved in stone at the bottom of the photo.

Sorry that this post is not terribly informative but perhaps you will enjoy the mystery!

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"Unicorns" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "U" posts from around the world please follow this link.

ABC Wednesday: Market

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is M for "Market" and the photo shows Ashton's open market with the Market Hall in the background.

The almost clear blue sky makes it look as if this is a warm and pleasant day, but a glance at the warm clothing that the people in the picture are wearing shows you that winter is clinging on for as long as it can, with icy winds.

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"Market" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "M" posts from around the world please follow this link.

ABC Wednesday: I Spy... IKEA?

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is I for "I Spy... IKEA?"

I Spy with My Little Eye, Something Beginning with "I". Hmmm. Whatever can that be? IKEA? Surely not. IKEA stores blend in so smoothly with their surroundings, don't they?

Well maybe, if you look carefully, you might just spot Ashton's IKEA store somewhere in this photo.

The picture shows the view looking from the tower of Ashton's Parish Church towards the Market Place with its brightly-coloured stalls. On the right is the Market Hall with part of the Town Hall just behind. Further back is part of the council office block, with the brick tower of the former Hop Pole pub to the left. Just to the left of the Market Place is the modern Arcades shopping mall and behind that... Oh, I think I may have spotted IKEA!

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"I Spy... IKEA?" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "I" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Market

Today's photo shows Ashton's historic open market from a different angle.

I'm afraid it's not the best of photos, with the strong winter sunshine creating deep shadows, but it shows some of the fruit and vegetable stalls that are on one side of the market ground. In the background, the unloved office block of the local council can be seen rising behind the restored stone facade of the former water board offices.

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"Market" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Christmas Trees

"Wanna Christmas tree? Pot plant, perhaps? A bit of greenery to brighten up the home on these dark and cold December evenings?

"What's that? No, sorry - that big one with the lights on over by the Town Hall isn't for sale. Besides, you'd have a job to get it into the taxi. Now - how about this nice one at the front?"

This week's view of My World shows a cold Ashton Market with only a few hardy shoppers braving the wind while others take refuge in the Market Hall or the Arcades mall. However, I'm sure that, when Christmas gets closer, the tree trade will become brisk!

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"Christmas Trees" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Ashton Market Again

This week's Sky Watch shows another view of Ashton's open market. It was taken a little earlier in November, before the trees shook off the last of their leaves.

In the background, the Town Hall can be seen. To the left of that is part of the Tameside Council offices which are apparently doomed to disappear.

The thinning trees, along with the empty hanging-basket frames on the lamp post, frame the pleasant autumn sky.

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Sky Watch is a regular weekly feature on this photo blog. It links with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

Ashton Market

This week's view of My World shows Ashton's open market. As you can see, it was very sunny for a November afternoon but, not surprisingly, it wasn't too warm.

In the background, the market hall has Christmas lights fitted to the walls, as have the lamp posts around the market, in readiness for the season ahead.

I hope my brief absence has not caused withdrawal symptoms for regular visitors!

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"Ashton Market" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Wet and Windy

This week's view of My World shows a damp view of Ashton Market.

Wet and windy weather, such as we have had today, is not good news for the stallholders on the outside market as many of the shoppers hurry quickly between the Arcades shopping centre and the Market Hall. Ans who can blame them?

In the background is the same fruit and veg stall seen here last week.

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"Wet and Windy" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Market Stall

This week's view of My World shows a market stall on Ashton Market.

The stall is one of the fruit and vegetable stalls - the one at the end facing the indoor Market Hall. The clock tower of the Market Hall can be seen to the right of the picture. In the background are glimpses of the grey stone of the Town Hall and the red brick of the former fire station.

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"Market Stall" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Ashton Market Hall

This week's view of My World shows Ashton's iconic Market Hall. It is seen from the Town Hall step. The open market is off to the right of the photo.

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"Ashton Market Hall" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Blue Sky Over Ashton Market!

This week's Sky Watch shows something that has not been too common this summer - a blue sky over Ashton Market!

We had plenty of hot weather (some of it very hot and sunny ) earlier in the year, but now that it is supposed to be sunny, the weather has turned changeable, with sun one minute and showers of rain the next.

Behind the tree the tower of the Market Hall points skyward, flanked by the new roof ridges of the Market Hall, re-built after being destroyed by fire in 2004.

Sky Watch is a regular weekly feature on this photo blog. It links with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

ABC Wednesday: Rain

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is R for "Rain". Of course, being close to Manchester, rain is not something that we see very often, as you can tell from all the sunny scenes eleswhere on this blog!

However, it does occasionally precipitate in the town and, like many other towns, it can look a little miserable when the weather is bad.

The photo shows part of the Market Place in Ashton, with the Market Hall on the left and the Open Market to the right. Open markets are not the best places to be during downpours but there are still some hardy souls carrying on regardless. It is on days like this when you really appreciate the town having a splendid indoor market where you can forget the weather!

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"Rain" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "R" posts from around the world please follow this link.

ABC Wednesday: Market

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is M for "Market".

It's a little bit late for this week's "M" collection, but better late than never.

Ashton's outdoor market is always popular, even more so on a sunny April day. If you were to encounter any April Showers you could always go into the Market Hall, seen in the background.

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"Market" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "M" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Please leave a comment below and please rate this photo using the 5 star system below. The highest-ranking photos will be considered for the Photo of the Year at the end of 2012!

ABC Wednesday: Lamps

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is L for "Lamps".

These decorative lamps are situated on the steps of Ashton's Town Hall. I caught them just as dusk was setting in. The lamps had come on but, with a clear blue sky overhead, there was still quite a lot of daylight, giving a slight glow to the Market Hall in the background.

In the daytime the space in front of the Town Hall is bustling with shoppers moving between the Market Hall and the Outside Market. However, this being the evening, the area was spookily deserted.

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"Lamps" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "L" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Please leave a comment below and please rate this photo using the 5 star system below. The highest-ranking photos will be considered for the Photo of the Year at the end of 2012!

Bow Street

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne shows Bow Street, alongside the Market Hall, seen from Market Street.

Bow Street is a fairly unremarkable street running alongside the Open Market and the Market Hall but it has seen some notable changes over the years.

Today it is a pedestrian zone, with access for traders' vehicles only at certain times, making a more relaxing experience for shoppers. It hasn't always been like that, of course, and I can remember when it was possible to park your car near that phone box and nip into the Market Hall for something. Earlier still the street was a busy bus route (and trolley bus and tram route before that) with several services calling or terminating at stops alongside the Open Market.

The row of buildings along the left hand side has undergone various changes as well. B&M Bargains was previously a Kwik Save supermarket and before that I think it was a Liptons' store. Maybe someone has a better memory than me? The New Market Hotel stood on that spot until around the 1960s.

The pharmacy hasn't always been Boots. I remember it being something else not too long ago. Was it Hibbert's? Pound Busters Superstore, the yellow building in the centre of the photo, hasn't always been a shop. For many years it was the Nag's Head pub and then more recently the Chute Bar. Perhaps someone reading this knows how long Holloway's Travel Goods has been there. I suspect it is rather longer than the others!

"Bow Street" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Half Term Fair

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne shows some of the fairground rides that have set up outside the Market Hall in Market Street during the school half term holiday week.

A damp and cold morning wasn't the most promising start to the day for the showmen, but there were still a number of youngsters who had splashed through the puddles to enjoy the thrills of the fair, ranging from small children to teenagers. The fairground attractions include a "Showtime" crazy house, a "Sizzler" rib-busting ride and a more gentle cup and saucer ride. No doubt the teenagers will turn out in greater numbers in the evening.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Half Term Fair" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

ABC Wednesday: Clock

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is C for Clock.

This is the free-standing clock that stands in Market Street in Ashton, between the Market Hall and Penny Meadow.

The Market Hall can be seen on the left of the photo. To the right of the clock can be seen the old Fire Station, now a pub, estate agents and offices, and next to that is The Ash Tree, Ashton's Wetherspoons pub. The taxi rank can just be seen behind the flower bed.

The Market Hall has a clock tower itself, but this is on the other side of the building, overlooking the Market Place, and is not visible from this side. So this elegant clock was constructed to help people using this busy corner of the town centre.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Clock" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "C" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Please leave a comment below and please rate this photo using the 5 star system below. The highest-ranking photos will be considered for the Photo of the Year at the end of 2012!

Market Place

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne shows some of the stalls on Ashton Market.

Even on a Winter's day there is plenty of colour to be seen on the stalls of the open market.

In the background are the unloved council offices. Rumour has it that the council may be contemplating the idea of redeveloping the site of these offices as much of the office space is now empty.

Ashton has had a market since the year 1284!

See Bird's Eye View of this location.

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"Market Place" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

The Bird Tree

Today's Sky Watch image looks up into the branches of a tree in Warrington Street, at the side of Ashton Market Ground.

The tree may not have many leaves left - I can see only around a dozen - but it more than makes up for this in birds! In fact, the tree is so popular that one bird has found itself a perch on a pole that is used for floral displays in the warmer months!

The birds are nearly all looking the same way. My guess is that they are watching the pictures on the large display screen above the entrance to the Ladysmith Centre!

Fans of Roald Dahl might wonder whether Mr Twit has passed this way recently!

The photo was taken on one of the bright but cold days that Ashton has had in between the wet and windy days.

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Sky Watch is a regular weekly feature on this photo blog. It links with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

Market Avenue

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne is looking along Market Street towards the Market Hall. The photo was taken on Saturday when we were 'enjoying' record high temperatures for October. You can almost see the slow way that the people in the picture are moving about. It was too hot to be energetic!

Market Street was originally called Dungeon Street as there was a prison lock-up there. It was re-named in the 1820s when the market was re-located here from St Michael's Square.

See Google Street View of this location (or as near as the Google car could get).

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"Market Avenue" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

My World visitors may like to read yesterday's post about a piece of Ashton's history that has been saved for the local people.