Animedragon

Congratulations on the '4' and commiserations for the '2'.  Taking a gap year to think through what you want do and how you're going to achieve it is a very sensible idea. I believe that it's important that whatever job you do it's important that it's something you enjoy doing, and that might not be one of your hobbies. Some people turn their hobby into a business and do very well out of it and enjoy it, while others find it destroys their interest in their hobby.

You're clearly giving a lot of thought to your future, and that's a good thing. I wish you all the best for whatever you decide to do.

45 minutes ago, Ayame said:

Is the main entrance not shown in the picture because I only see what looks like a solid piece of land to enter the castle which would defeat the purpose of a moat I guess? 

Now you mention it, that photo isn't very clear is it. This is a better view of the main entrance showing the current wooden bridge across the moat to the central island.

The SR.N4 doesn't look that large from a distance, but when I stood in front of it and walked up the car ramp and stood in the car deck I was totally blown away at just how massive it was, I stood on the car deck for quite a while taking in just how big it was.

@Zeref, @Sakura While I knew OF the SR.N4 and had seen film of them in service I'd never actually seen one until I visited the museum and I was totally blown away by how huge they were. I spend aged just wandering round it inside and outside and thinking that this huge machine could actually fly across the channel.  I don't think that the museum actually offers hovercraft rides, but I seem to recall from my visit that there was a hovercraft operating from the slipway opposite the museum that give rides but they weren't operating the day I was there. 

I have had a ride in a hovercraft, way way back when I was about 10 one of the seaside places we visited on holiday was doing rides round the harbour.

Sometimes when I'm looking round a museum I come across an exhibit which has a notice on it saying that it was used in some film or TV show and it is sort of cool to see the actual vehicle they used even if I've never seen or heard of the film or TV show.

2 hours ago, Jellal said:

That's why I'm always a bit upset when I see people only capturing an event through a phone lense instead of experiencing it in the moment. Of course I understand wanting to capture the memory, but if you're recording the entire memory through a phone you haven't actually experienced the moment. I always take a few pictures or a short video and then experience the rest in real time because there's nothing  like the real thing.

I know where you're coming from. A couple of years back I realised that I was spending so much time at railway galas taking pictures that I wasn't really seeing the trains, so now I make a definite effort to lower the camera and actually look at the trains.

You say the pictures aren't great, but I'd disagree with that. The sunset pictures are amazing and really like the soft colours in the sky and and in in the water.

The nighttime pictures are equally as good, it can be tricky to get nicely exposed night shots but you've captured the scenes perfectly. I really like that illuminated bridge.

Thank you I'm pleased you like my photos. I guess those forts wouldn't have been so peaceful when they were operational 

Wow. Nice pictures. That old fort must be a really interesting place to explore.

That event looks fun. It also looks like a good place to empty your wallet

That looks like a much more sensible, practical and helpful event than the Pride events in the UK, which are just parades along the street with people waving placards and pretty much trying to force their views on everyone else.

3 hours ago, Ayame said:

I love your photographs (●´ω｀●) This sounds like such a history rich place if only the buildings could talk about all they've seen and heard. 

Yes, if some of those old buildings could talk they'd have some amazing stories to tell.

35 minutes ago, Sasuke said:

It does seem so. The floor and the ceiling for instance look really good both for how old they are and when you figure they probably weren't trying to preserve it well if it was being used as a storage room.

I think I didn't explain things too well. The tiled floor was in the original late 13th century refectory which was demolished in a remodelling of that part of the buildings in the 15th century. I guess the tiled floor was considered old and not worth keeping, so the just buried it under the demolition rubble. The carved ceiling is in the new 15th century refectory.

@Zeref Looking at the plan the abbey in the guide book, nearly all of the surviving buildings are from the 13th century, while the refectory is from the 15th century and replaced the original 13th century one, that was the one with the mosaic floor. 

@Sakura It was indeed a summer day and the sun was in just the right position when I took those two photos. It's quite amazing how some photos can make people nostalgic and bring back memories, I'm sorry that my photos made you feel a little sad, but also pleased that they bought back happy memories for you. That ceiling is truly awesome, the quality and degree of craftsmanship in ceilings like that never ceases to amaze me, even more amazing is that it managed to survive for something like 600 years.

I liked those two pictures as well. The whole place is remarkably well preserved especially when you consider that after the dissolution most of the monastic buildings became stone quarries and were taken apart and used in other buildings.  

3 hours ago, Zeref said:

I'm not

You are if you carve your name into the bark of trees.  That sort of thing can kill a tree if done to much  

Work is the curse of the working class 

@Sarada It's on a headland that sticks out into the sea. You can drive as far as the car park at Brean beach then you have two choices, climb the steep 200 steps to the top of the headland and then walk just over a mile to the fort, or you can walk along the access road which is steep but easier than the stairs but adds about another three quarters of a mile to your walk.

@Eris I think that it would have been quite a peaceful place to be stationed, as far military bases can be called peaceful.

Thank you.

It wasn't a very large fort, I think it had about 50 soldiers stationed there. The crazy guy's action damaged quite a lot of it I think but it didn't change the size. It was a lot larger in WW2, if you look to the right in the first photo you can see the foundations of the WW2 barracks.

Thank you.

The forts were sometimes referred to as "Palmerston's Follies" because they cost a lot of money to build and in the end were never used for purpose they were built for because the expected French invasion never happened.

She's quite right, carving names on trees damages them by creating wounds which act as entry points for pests and disease.

Beautiful photos as always. I liked the ones on the forest trail those trees look lovely. That sky is an amazing colour of blue, and the mural on that building is fantastic. I agree with you that going out for a walk somewhere like that is really good for you it's so nice to just sit amongst nature and soak up the peaceful calm that surrounds you.

Exams can be really stressful so I hope the remaining ones go OK for you. Remember, you've put in the hours studying, so do your best that's all you can do.

These are really beautiful pictures, I really like sunsets and those are amazing, there's some wonderful colours and cloud patterns, it all fits so well.

5 hours ago, Moestub said:

Nice shots, they almost looks wholesome with the greenery, but knowing what was going on on-site gives it another feeling ! The lack of awareness and protection towards noise/heat and the working conditions sure doesn't sound like a fun time.. Still, the tower/furnace remains impressive.

It's a fascinating place to visit and all the greenery makes it a look a really nice peasant and tranquil place, but in reality I don't think there would have been much, if any, greenery when it was working and it certainly wouldn't have been tranquil!!

5 hours ago, Moestub said:

Wow, that TV looks even smaller than Sony's old PMV which were used in hospitals and other professional setting  

That TV would have bee state-of-the-art at the time and that TV like the record player/radio unit opposite would have been quite expensive items, so the people living there in the 1950s would have been fairly well off.

5 hours ago, Moestub said:

The lack of awareness and protection towards noise/heat and the working conditions sure doesn't sound like a fun time

Health & Safety wasn't a thing back in those days.