Typical Taunton Transport

A Great British icon - the Land Rover Defender 90.

On a market day you can't move for these things towing trailers full of animals to the Cattle Market, great workhorses.

This is a great example... and if you hurry you will find I am selling it on eBay! Will deliver anywhere in the world at cost plus expenses, good luck! ;)

Taunton Town Charity

This is Taunton Town Charity who run around 70 sheltered houses in Taunton including the Almshouses I posted a while ago.

This building is on Magdalen Street facing the church, behind one of the main shopping streets in Taunton. You could drive through the town and never see these buildings.

Christmas Market

Well it's on its way!

The decorations are going up (despite the leaves still being on the trees), the market stalls are appearing - no matter how much I wish it would wait a few weeks Christmas seems to creep ever closer to January!

Still, if it means cider being served on the street it can't be all bad!

Park and Ride

This is an AEC Regent made sometime between 1929 and when they gave up the ghost in 1968.

It is looked after by Quantock Motor Services who hire them out but at the moment it is being used as the shoppers park and ride.

Jellalabad Barracks

This is a photo of the main entrance to Jellalabad Barracks near Vivary Park.

The barracks was built to house the Somerset Light Infantry, a very old and honoured regiment that was raised as The Earl of Huntigdons's Regiment of Foot in 1685, and traces its history back to the Monmouthshire Rebellion. The name of the barracks is due to the regiment winning one of its many battle honours at Jellalabad in 1842.

Incidentally for all you lovely Americans, the regiment first used light infantry tactics in Canada in the war with the United States and was given Light Infantry status on Christmas Day 1822 - that beats a new pair of slippers anyday eh!

The only part of the barracks still standing is the keep, the remainder was demolished to make way for housing.

The photo was taken by Nick White and can be seen on his site.

Taunton School 2

Here's the school as it stands 47 years later... I think they have changed the hockey nets! ;)

Taunton School 1959

This is a shot of Taunton School taken in 1959 (no not by me I am waaaaaay too young!)

I will post one tomorrow taken recently, so you can see the changes.

Taunton School has a great reputation, it is very keen on its sport. My girl Nelly went here and little ada will do when I have earned enough to pay the fees! ;)


The return of Taunton Daily Tunes is imminent.... not that you are bothered..... ;)

West Somerset Railway

This is a shot of the West Somerset Railway (Unofficial site here) by David Holman who has lots of great photos here.

The railway runs from Taunton to the seaside town of Minehead - especially popular around now are the Santa Trains, not been on one yet but if the bigman himself is on there I may go and bug him about that new Nikon D80 I crave...

Crest

This is the town crest as seen on the gates to Vivary Park.

The out of focus bum to the right of the photo belongs to my wonderful girlfriend Nelly!

Taunton Country Market 2

A second image from inside the store this time.

How could you not buy something from these three?

The Leaves again

Another one from the other night, it was just getting dark and the leaves were picking up the last of the light. Can't wait to get a 'proper' camera and really get to play with images like this.

Leaves in the Rain

It is VERY wet in Taunton tonight, I took this on the way back from buying milk for little Ada - the rain made the leaves look very shiny.

Taunton Daily Tune tonight is The Beta Band with Dry the Rain - little known but worth a listen!

Taunton Country Market Ltd

This used to be the WI shop, it seems it is run along the same lines - as a cooperative, in fact if you are a small scale producer in Taunton they are looking for more products.

It's a great little shop filled with whatever is seasonal at the time and crafty things like bird boxes, cakes etc. I have not bought anything in there yet but after popping in for a chat after taking this photo I will be doing in future.

Taunton Daily Tunes
A bit of Bush today - Kate Bush with Wuthering Heights

Taunton Magistrates Court

Directly opposite the police station and only a 100m from the old prison stands the magistrates court - very convenient!
Prisoners can be taken from the police cells through an underground passage into the court cells & then to the chambers.
Later when (if?) found guilty and the magistrate gives the offender a custodial sentence the dramatic phrase 'take him down Bailiff' really does mean down!

Taunton daily Tunes goes back to 1979 with Gary Numan and 'Are Friends Electric?' great tune, recently recycled by the Sugarbabes - just don't let him fly your plane or provide a sperm sample.....

The pub.... Pen and Quill

About four years ago I visited Taunton Police Station to meet a couple of colleagues, we went to this pub for lunch. That was my first visit to Taunton and I have not been back to the pub since, the food was good - no idea why I haven't been back. Too much choice really...

This IS the start of a series, it's quite an easy series for any UK DPBlogger - all the pubs in your town, maybe I should have a pint in each one I photograph!?

Taunton Daily Tune today is E-Pro by Beck - great tune, I know nothing about it really but I think Beck is great - maybe you can tell me about him?

Absolutely NO PARKING, whatsoever, none you understand! Got it?

Hmmmm.....

Right, Tune of the day!

Blue Monday by New Order - need I say more?
Go have a listen if you don't know it - go have a listen if you do!

What am I stood outside of?

Not for you Brits out there!

If you were stood outside a building with this 'sign' where would you be?

Taunton Daily Tune today comes from my hometown of Manchester. It's the genius Mark E Smith and The Fall with How I Wrote Elastic Man. Listen to the lyrics, what's going on there then?

The Taunton Pop Up Pissoir Party

Sometimes I guess you end up with photos you never envisaged!

I was meeting my little family after work today when we saw this commotion going on: It's the 'launch event' for our new pop-up urinal! Smack bang in the centre of town...

Designed to stop the problem of blokes peeing in the street, against doorways etc on nights out when they can't be bothered to wait. A great idea but WHY in the centre of the town, just 20 metres away would have been a whole lot more discrete. As it is they are going to be in open view of everyone, drunkenly waving away in the wind...

I don't think it was needed, as it is we slap a £80 instant fine on anyone we catch letting go in the street - a nice little earner! ;)

Taunton Daily Tune... I resisted the temptation to find something toilet related and went with a classic pop tune from 1982. I was 14, no doubt my girlfriend will point out that she was 2 when she sees this tomorrow but hey! I KNOW I am an OLD FART! Anyway - back to the tune - The Associates - Party Fears Two. RIP Billy Mackenzie.

A Typical Taunton Baby

By the time I got home tonight the fog and lack of light meant I couldn't get any photos.

So here is a baby from Taunton, ok she's my beautiful baby from Taunton!

Will take some photos tomorrow in my lunchbreak as I am working here tomorrow - hope that fog lifts!

Taunton Daily Tune is from the band Portishead (which is named after the town where I work) with probably their best known single Numb - brill - but then I would say that! ;)

A Real Fun Guy...

The day started in total fog, I drove 40 miles through fog, worked all day then drove home through fog...

Consequently you have a photo taken a few days ago when me, my girlfriend and my baby went for a walk in the hills around Taunton.

It was very wet and quite warm, ideal funghi conditions so we had a nose around in the undergrowth and there, hiding between the brambles were these. Anyone identify them?

Tune for the day - I have left the punk theme behind and picked a tune from the Polyphonic Spree album 'The beginning Stages of...' The tune is Soldier Girl, a great album and a great tune.

The Market House

Feeling a bit fluey today and you know how much worse that is for a man than a woman.... so I am using a photo I took the other evening.

This is the Market House, it used to be the centre of the market but has been turned into a pub now, it's not a very pretty pub inside despite its great exterior and amazing location smack bang in the middle of town. It is certainly busy enough, last time I went in I could not hear myself scream for beer!

Today's tune continues the punky theme (might give that a rest after today) but it has a bit of a twist - see if you can recognise the vocalist. The band is Leftfield and this is Open Up.

The Wooden Pigs

These pigs hang around in the market, I think people refer to it as the 'Pig Market' but I don't believe many pigs change hands in there anymore. I do buy my meat there but only from a domestic butcher!

We do have a cattle market, that's a different matter, it's only a few hundred metres from my house so the smell and noise from that place can be quite something, I will get some pictures next time I get chance.

A hello to Tim, a Tauntonian who has found my blog, hope you keep visiting and finding something of interest!

Todays tune is a cracker from another couple of punk pioneers; Mick Jones and Don Letts who got together after The Clash split to form Big Audio Dynamite, great stuff!

Dellers

A view across the river to Dellers Wharf, probably our biggest club in Taunton - I have only been once and can't tell you too much about it! It was fun though, I think....

Underneath it you can just see the side of Kalabash - a clothes shop for the young & tragically hip!

The music.... Well I can't remember the second song from yesterday so straight in at number one today is Christine by Siouxsie and the Banshees - not half! ;)

Tonight In Town

I was walking to the butchers in town this evening when I saw, or rather my lovely girlfriend saw, the last of the days sun hitting St Mary Magdalen church.

So I stood like a wally waiting for a gap in traffic to snap it, strangely there were lots of people walking around with video cameras and big furry microphones, no idea what was going on there!

In the foreground is another monument, I think this one is specific to the Somerset Light Infantry but I will check that out.

Onto the music, I was torn today - two great tunes going round in my mind, one will have to wait 'til tomorrow... Today is the turn of Belle and Sebastian, not the cute French childrens show but the cute Glaswegian band with the equally cute 'The Boy With the Arab Strap'.

Vivary Park Memorial

This is the memorial in Vivary Park to the fallen from the Great War.
With Remembrance Day coming up I expect to start seeing a lot more poppies appearing over the next week or so.

Vivary Park is a great little place, had a few pleasant picnics in there this summer.

The name Vivary Park comes from the fact that it is built, or planted I suppose, on the site of the old Vivarium or fish farm that fed the castle and priory.

Taunton Daily Tune is a shortie today, 'John, I'm Only Dancing' covered by the Chameleons. Comments have been enabled on the site now so you can leave feedback if you like - maybe make a request! I've noticed that both Pod & Donna have decent taste in music - how about the rest of you letting us know what you like!