Today started off rather suddenly thanks to a radio DJ’s bizarre early morning decision to play Black Sabbath’s Paranoid at the exact moment my clock radio sprang into action.  I’m still recovering. It did, however, give me inspiration for this week’s theme. Here are a few metal memories I’ve photographed on my travels.

A rather strange metal palm tree on the beach at Coney Island.

The shiny Spire in the centre of Dublin.

Two of my favourite sculptures in New York’s Union Station.

A glorious sight; railroad tracks unfurling through the high desert of western Washington as the Empire Builder clatters towards Snoqualmie Pass.

If you’re in the mood to put the pedal to the metal and join in this week’s travel theme, here’s what to do:

• Create your own post and title it Travel theme: Metal
• Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
• Get your post in by next Thursday, as the new travel theme comes out on Friday
• Don’t forget to subscribe to keep up to date on the latest weekly travel themes. Sign up via the email subscription link in the sidebar or RSS!

xxx Ailsa

An excellent man, like precious metal, is in every way invariable; A villain, like the beams of a balance, is always varying, upwards and downwards. – John Locke

But the hardest metal yields to sufficient heat. Even so must the hardest heart melt before sufficiency of the heat of non-violence. And there is no limit to the capacity of non-violence to generate heat. – Gandhi