U is for UNUSUAL

Round 19 has flown by!  Already, we're at the letter U so that means it's not long until our ultimate Round will start.  As Roger has mentioned, it will be the "Farewell Tour," thus the emblem for Round 20 is the ultra-deluxe t-shirt designed by Troy.

Those who have been contributing for a long time will remember that Denise Nesbitt (from North Yorkshire, UK) began ABC Wednesday many years ago and it became unusually popular, getting posts from people all over the world!  Roger took over as Administrator of ABCW several years ago and I became his Assistant Administrator.  We then managed to put together a team so that everyone who posted to ABCW would receive visits and comments from as many people as possible.  Now, after 20 Rounds that equals 10 years, most of us on the team are, as Roger says, "fried" and even though we want to continue, our lives and availability to put so much time into it have become limited.  I, for one, would like to continue but only in a contributing manner, not as someone on the team. A few people have expressed interest in continuing ABCW in a different way, so by all means, get in touch with Roger with your ideas and he will assist you in how to do it. 

Now for my "Unusual" photo of the week, I bring you a few shots of a very special and unusual train that I saw near Darlington in North Yorkshire last summer.  My host pulled over on the side of the highway and told me to get my camera ready.  Uncertain as to what I'd see, my jaw dropped at the sight of this unconventional and unadulterated work of art.

"Designed by leading contemporary artist and sculptor David Mach, Train is made from 185,000 local "Accrington Nori" bricks and commemorates Darlington's illustrious heritage as "home of the railways."  Here are a couple more shots from the website.

Mach describes his train as "as much a piece of architecture as a sculpture," 60 metres long and 6 metres high, it is a perfect rendering of the 1938 classic locomotive "Mallard", complete with plume of billowing smoke.  Creating a large scale, life-like whole out of thousands of commonplace objects is Mach's trademark. To read more about this unusual piece of art and the artist, view the website here.

See you all next week when we venture into the terrain of the letter V as in violet and vegetables.