Discover Penrith

THIS post on RFTFT takes us up to the market town of Penrith, Cumbria. A town that has been going through a regeneration in recent years, which has included the building of the new Castle Park Retail site, on the A592, Ullswater Road, as well as the New Squares development, around the Southend Road area. I do like the metalwork which greets visitors to the New Squares, as seen above. A new website was launched in late 2013, on which visitors can learn more about the town, the website is Discover Penrith. There is lots more to Penrith than just the new retail areas; The Musgrave Monument in the Market Square, St Andrew's Church, the statue of the Black Angel in Castle Park (to commemorate the Boer War), the Band Stand in Corn Market, not forgetting Penrith Castle, as well as the sporting facilities in Castle Park. Regarding sports, Penrith Rugby Union is based at Winters Park, Carleton; Penrith AFC [Football Club] is based at Frenchfields Park. Learn more about sport in Penrith on the Eden FM Sport Facebook page. Eden FM is the Community Radio station based on Ullswater Road Business Park. Also based in Penrith is the Cumberland & Westmorland Herald (weekly newspaper) and Cumbrian Local (monthly community magazine). I do hope this posting regarding Penrith has been enjoyable. Do enjoy the remainder of your weekend.

Wallpaper of the Week, 19 January 2014

THE FINAL image of the series of photographs taken at Ullswater, May 2013, is of the stone steps which lead from the roadside down to the water. I like the low sun shining at an angle, showing the greenery at its best and giving good light on this shot. I do hope you have enjoyed these images and will continue to visit Reporting From The Fox Tower.

Happy Birthday Victoria Louise!

BEFORE the day is through, join me in wishing Victoria Louise Lott a very Happy 23rd Birthday.

Victoria Louise is better known as the British singer Pixie Lott, who will be performing her new single 'Nasty' at the 2014 Brit Awards. Happy Birthday, Pixie!

Wallpaper of the Week, 12 January 2014

WALLPAPER of the Week takes one final look - for now - at Ullswater. This image, as with the previous images in the series, was taken one evening in May 2013. I hope you have enjoyed this selection of images of the water and surrounding country. I still have one more image which will be in the next posting, then I intend to post a few more items closer to home in the near future. Until then, enjoy this week's image of Ullswater.

... and a Happy New Year from me.

JANUARY 1st 2014 has arrived, so I would like to wish you a Happy New Year and welcome you to the first posting of the year here on RFTFT. The image continues the series of photographs taken at Ullswater, May 14th 2013, at 6:15pm. I do hope you enjoy the picture and will enjoy 2014.

Wallpaper of the Week, 22 December 2013

SUNDAY afternoon, listening to Eden FM, the sun is shining, a nice picture from Springtime, so it must be the weekend before Christmas. Yes, welcome along to this latest post on RFTFT, I do try to remember to use the word 'post' or 'posting', rather than 'edition' or 'issue', or even 'release'. If you would like a one-off paper edition of RFTFT, I may consider it during 2014. I have also used italics quite a lot so far, so will move onto the subject of this post. Please enjoy this week's image of Ullswater, taken at 6:15pm on 14 May 2013, by myself. I was hoping that the Eden Valley may have been festooned by the snow by now, which would have heralded some traditionally festive images for 'WotW', but I don't think images of heavy rainfall would elicit the same wistful thoughts of Christmas and Winter, so that's why I am posting the nice blue sky images of Ullswater.

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

Wallpaper of the Week, 15 December 2013

As CHRISTMAS draws ever closer, following the promise of the post a week ago here on RFTFT, we (in the northern hemisphere) are in the depths of the winter weather, which, apart from the torrential rain and winds, hasn't actually been too bad. We haven't had any snow yet. So following the 'WotW' post last week, we're not giving in to the scenes of snow as usually depicted all over the internet every December and continuing with blue sky scenes from spring and summer. The above image follows last week's post, as this is another image of Ullswater, taken by myself, on May 14th 2013.

Lots more nice images of the water (as Ullswater in not officially classed as a 'lake') to come, I also have some nice images of the Fox Tower itself I intend to share, as it is the monument after which I named this blog.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and have a good week.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

WELCOME to this latest edition of Reporting From The Fox Tower, brought to you on the evening of Friday the thirteenth, 2013. If you like numerical dates, then today is 13-12-13. The double presence of the number thirteen will no doubt be of great interest to Miss Taylor Alison Swift - pictured left - who regards the number 13 as her lucky number, as it was the thirteenth day of December on which she was born. Click the link featured in her name (above) to visit her official website, where you can read the line in her bio, where she states she 'was born in December on a Christmas tree farm'. So it is time to wish Taylor a very Happy Birthday, with lots of love for her magnificent albums: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Speak Now World Tour Live and RED. Taylor is currently on the RED Tour in Australia, which visits the O2, London, in February 2014. Details of the tour are also found on Taylor's website. This image of Tay is from the 2013 VS Fashion show. I shall close by saying Happy Birthday Taylor!

Wallpaper of the Week, 8 December 2013

I am pleased to announce the return of WotW (Yes, another italicised acronym) for the winter season. I don't want to dwell too much on the winter weather, so the first image is of Ullswater, the first of a series of photographs I took on 14 May 2013. I hope to post more images of blue skies from spring and summer 2013, which I hope you will appreciate and enjoy.

A Couple More Winter Birthdays!

FIRST is a belated Happy Birthday to Miss Karen Gillan, Who celebrated her Birthday on Friday 29th November. Miss Gillan, professional actress, is most popular for this role:

The role of Amelia Jessica 'Amy' Pond, in the BBC Television series Doctor Who, which recently celebrated its fiftieth anniversary.

Celebrating their Birthday today [Monday 2 December 2013] is:

Miss Britney Jean Spears, who has a new album, tour and perfume for your delectation this coming Christmas. That's enough said about that for the time being.

I do hope Miss Gillan and Miss Spears enjoy their Birthdays. RFTFT will be back again soon with what you might call a 'Rear end special' - As it is the rear end of 2013, I'll publish some nice pictures from throughout the year, hopefully reminding us of the sunny days in the middle of the year. That's all coming up soon here on RFTFT. Until then, enjoy your Monday evening.

Belated Happy Birthday, Miss Brook!

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Miss Kelly Brook, who celebrated her [34th] Birthday on Saturday. Kelly shares her Birthday with Miley Cyrus, who turned 21 this weekend.

Seeing as Miley is a bit of a nightmare these days, let's stay with Kelly. To mark her Birthday, I'm sharing this selfie Kelly posted on her social media sites on [Saturday] the morning of her Birthday, from her bed:

Kelly even looks good first thing in the morning - Enough said.

Happy Birthday Miss Brook!

LIVE from the VS 2013 Catwalk...

YES, RFTFT gets you everywhere, you lucky people. Well, not exactly live from the VS 2013 Catwalk, or anywhere near, for that matter. VS, by the way, stands for Victoria's Secret, who held their 'Class of 2013' Fashion Show this past week, which did have British involvement lead by Cara Delevingne, who, as reported here, was involved in many of the shenanigans before, during and after the show.

The show has also produced brand new BFF [that's Best Friends Forever, for those that were unaware] in the shape of VS Angel [Angel is the name given to the ladies who model in the VS Fashion Show] Lily Aldridge and the Superstar performer of the evening Miss Taylor Alison Swift - Not only did Taylor perform a couple of tracks at the show, including I Knew You Were Trouble., but also got involved in the fashions - Wearing a Union flag inspired outfit alongside Cara Delevingne in a football inspired outfit during a British element of the show, changing into a silver dress to perform again and join in the high fives, touches and pats with the Angels as they took to the catwalk, or the runway, to saunter past Swift as she performed. It was when Aldridge took to the stage that the media bestowed the honour of BFF upon her and Swift, as Swift seemed to be very much taken by Aldridge, as they exchanged smiles and blowing kisses to one another as Swift performed. Following the performance, Aldridge walked hand in hand with Swift on the runway, sealing their new BFF status. And here's the cute picture to prove it!

Now, I may be speaking out of turn here, but I think Miss Swift (on the left, obviously) has the better legs in this photograph, but I won't dismiss your opposing views, if you wish to share them using the Comment feature below.

Well, I think that's a nice way to round off the weekend and bring a smile into the new week. Thank you for visiting RFTFT and do return again soon!

One of those days...

MY FACEBOOK status update today was 'Ever had one of those days where you wish you had just stayed at home?', but at least things sometimes don't get as bad as they did for poor old Homer (pictured above). I had originally planned to post an image from the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, featuring Ms Lily Aldridge and Miss Taylor Alison Swift, but I will keep that for a future date. Tomorrow? Next week? The sooner the better I think. Until then... Smile!

Good evening, Miss Swift...

... I'VE been expecting you. This image is taken from Taylor's performance of 'The Last Time' with Gary Lightbody on 'The X Factor', Sunday 3 November. Though the autumnal outfit brings to mind the potential of a Bond Girl  - Or even a Bond Villain! Miss Swift is not a stranger to starring on the silver screen, so over to you, Hollywood...

Roar! Happy Birthday Katy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Katy Perry, celebrating her 29th Birthday today, October 25. The above image is a screenshot from Katy's current single, 'Roar', which recently reached #1.

Where did summer go?

WELCOME to the latest posting here on RFTFT, autumn is taking hold, the leaves on the ground and the rain is no longer 'gentle' but 'lashing'. Television has reverted to the autumn schedule - Yes, 'Strictly Come Dancing' and 'The X Factor' now rule your weekends. The football season is now over two months old, with FA Cup fixtures every other week for the non league clubs and the England team are one match - v Poland - away from qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Parents are delighted as the school year is under way and Channel 4 reflect this with the series 'Educating Yorkshire', which focuses on a pupil named Sheridan and her colourful use of the English language, as well as the deputy head teacher, Mr Steer, who is allergic to everything. This post has used italics six times and that's enough. People to see and stuff to do and all that, as always, if you have visited this blog for the first time, welcome and please return again soon. Also thank you to those who visit this blog via the links on my Twitter and Facebook accounts, would you like to add this blog as one of your favourites? If you do, then thank you once again.

Weekend Wallpaper, 6 September 2013

WELCOME to another posting here on Reporting From The Fox Tower. Apologies for not posting during August, we did have a lot of nice weather here in the Eden Valley, combined with the culmination of The Ashes - England winning the series 3-0, when it could have so closely been 4-0, possibly a little bit of laziness too, but I do hope you enjoy this post.

The above image dates from 31 March 2013 at the Classic Commercial Vehicle Rally, Brough. A Ribble bus with Ambleside on its route.

Enjoy the weekend.

Best of British

WELCOME to the latest post here on RFTFT, catching up on the momentous events of the last week in the form of a photo diary, beginning with England 2 - Aussie 0 :

In the second Ashes test match between England and Australia at Lord's, England took a 2-0 series lead over Australia in the five match series, with a 347 run victory on Sunday 21 July. The above image from Twelfth Man, The Official Fan Community of England Cricket. Image © Getty.

Also, on the same day :

Chris Froome was confirmed as the winner of Le Tour de France, following the final stage of the race in Paris, on Sunday 21 July. Froome is the second British winner in consecutive years, following the success of Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2012. This year was the one hundredth staging of Le Tour. Image from Le Tour de France, image © A.S.O. - Guillaume Benoit.

And on the next day :

Welcome His Royal Highness Prince George Alexander Louis Windsor of Cambridge.

All in all, a rather excellent week. The third Ashes Test starts this coming Thursday, 1st August. More of the same please, England...!

England 1 - Aussie 0

THE first test of the Ashes came to a conclusion today, Sunday 14 July, with England beating Australia by fourteen runs, taking a 1-0 lead in the series. C'mon England!

CHAMPION.

ANDY MURRAY is the 2013 Wimbledon Men's Singles Champion.

The moment of victory.