Thursday January 31st 2019

10pm. 

Well we haven't done badly this winter with the weather. It has been predominantly mild, a few frosts but here along the Somerset coast definitely a mild winter. Until tonight. Sunrise this morning was fabulous. A painters dream of purples, oranges and violets. The drive into work showing a frosty landscape and bright sunshine. I knew though fro the forecast it wasn't to last. Snow was due by the middle of the afternoon. Yet as I left work early to avoid the worst of the snow, not a flake had fallen. By 8pm, still no snow. Then just after a fourth look out of the door, the first raindrops fell, quickly becoming sleat. Within 30 minutes the ground was turning white and by the time this image was taken, a good covering blanketed the area. And it is still coming down. Not overly deep but it has come down quickly and seems to be a classic wet show - sticks to everything. It should look amazing tomorrow in the light. 

A funny moment happened around 9pm. Julie and I were gazing out the front bedroom window, opposite Alise was doing the same, as the net curtains shimmered, we waved frantically across the road at each other like daft children seeing snow for the first time. I'll head off to bed now, as I need to be in work tomorrow, train I think!

Wednesday January 30th 2019

To all intense and purposes this is a dull image. A half eaten sandwich, consumed in the car at lunchtime. Yet is sort of represents everything this year long diary is about. Often capturing the mundane is as interesting as the special moments in a day, or life. I've mentioned before I am trying to both save money and increase my exercise but moving my car at lunchtime to 1.5 miles away from work. For a long time I have not had a proper lunchtime, and I'm convinced this is bad for anyone. I'm finding this hour away from the computer most therapeutic.  This last week however while being racked with the most awful cold, I've not really had the energy of inclination to leave my warm office. Today though, the sun was shining and I felt like the energy levels were returning. Thus following a quick pop into the CoOp to buy one of their £3.50 lunch deals, I drove to the other side of the Suspension Bridge and consumed the BLT ahead of the romp back to the office.And that's the image I took,mid munch. The road I park on, I'm on my lunchtime manoeuvres and that's lunch itself. My day in BS8, to a nutshell. Nice walk back too past this garden which every year is a riot of early bulbs. Smashing.

Tuesday January 29th 2019

It's possibly going to snow today, but as I write this at 5.30pm, it's just wet. The rest of the country seems to be getting a smattering of snoff and in some cases a right dollop, but here in the South West, damp and dull still. Apparently we'll get it on Thursday, we'll see. 

So what has that to do with this book. Well nothing really, other than I didn't have my usual lunchtime walk today due to the rain/threat of snow, and pottering inside the BBC Club, I spied some books which have been withdrawn from the library stock. This one took my eye. As a small tadpole starting out on this wildlife game, I had a copy of this at home. Strictly speaking I think, it was my parents copy which I commandeered. Terribly dated now with some of the facts, it remains still a good grounding in the world of natural history in Britain. I love the fact that within the plant chapters, habitats include a soil profile. Which books now would include a soil structure as an explanation of what lies beneath chalk grassland? I seem to recall books were like that back then, covered a lot of ground within one volume.  However what this book does not cover, or hasn't to my knowledge flicking through it, is anything about the sycamore tree? Really? Surely that must be an oversight? I shall have to delve deeper before the nights lengthen and I can go out after work.

Monday January 28th 2019

It is always wonderful to receive thank you letters, or in this case a thank you card. No one writes anymore, or so we are told. Everything is email and text. I try and write to people but in more cases than not, I never receive a reply other than a text. Have we all become so busy in our lives that we can no longer spend 20 minutes writing a letter to a friend, rather than What'sApping baby images or Facebooking strangers with comments no one reads?  Each to their own of course, but receiving this card today as a thank you for a Christmas present is priceless in my book. And it's a nice card too!

Sunday January 27th 2019

 

Friendship is an amazing thing. All friends begin as strangers and then over time become more like family, either remaining friends for a long time or more often over time drifting away as a memory on a timeline. Lifelong friendships are much like family siblings who can be close, but often quite distant from each other, held together by a form of invisible bond. And so it was today. I haven't seen Chris or his wife Nicki for a few years, but Chris is my oldest friend. I've known him since he was 6 months old. We went through childhood together, I was his best man, and we've kept in touch. With them today is Cameron, soon to be Doctor Cameron. And lets not forget 12 year old Oscar. Those friendships which grow then wither do so for reasons of change. We change. Our view on the world changes over time. So friends at school who we played games with may not be compatible in adult life when discussing politics. I've been lucky in that from school I've kept three friends. Plus a few others who are friends at a distance via social media and a Christmas card or two. The former are the friends with a connection more akin to family members. Chris and I met in a pub this afternoon, no awkward how are you? what was the drive like?  We just somehow began the conversation where it left off 2 or 3 years ago. Our respective backstory is known, history is unsaid, the present is all that matters. Much like long lost siblings, that bond from decades before is strong even if the actual physical contact is absent for months and years. Lifelong friends are special. It was a good day chat, lunch and a walk up a blustery hillside.

Saturday January 26th 2019

 

Seeing this pop up on the blogging dashboard gave me a start. Have the security services been informed?

 

I took this after a full day volunteering for the National Trust. Despite having a cold. I'm a martyr. This morning I was rota'd as the Membership and Visitor Experience person. In simple terms this involves standing in the ticket office and being the first point of contact for the visitors. In reality as it was a quiet day, it meant standing in the ticket office chatting to paid personages Chloe, Bobbie and Beth, plus some dad dancing thrown in. You had to be there to understand, or maybe not. I love it. Totally different to the paid employ, and as someone who likes to chat to people, it's a role tailor made for me. What the visitors think of me is another story (and we don't dad dance, if anyone is in the office). Then after my egg sandwiches, of which their olfactory aroma brought much comment, Alison, the manager's husband, drove a few of us to nearby Failand for the National Trust's Start of Year presentation. Three hours of heads of departments chatting about what is happening in 2019. Madrid to Tyntesfield is the theme this year, recognising that the first owner of the estate, William Gibbs was born in Spain. Lovely lemon biscuits and a mug of tea consumed, at the end of the day, it was time, at the point this photo was taken, to head home. At which point my cold worsened. I'm a martyr.

Friday January 24th 2019

 

An accidental image today. Following a rumbustious day at work arriving home a mug of tea enhanced the mode most decidedly. Still not feeling the full kipper fillet with this cold, plonked myself onto the sofa for a night of watching old TV - Sweeney, The Professionals and Wheeler Dealers. I looked over to find my phone and for reasons I can't explain the selfie mode of the camera was on. On the screen it was showing this image - the underside of my lamp. I looked at this and thought, Ahh haa there's todays blog image - I'm been struggling to come up with a topic due to the befuddled state of the mind. Like a number of images I take for this diary of my year, for me it's oddly appealing, and created with happenchance.

Thursday January 24th 2019

 

Not the greatest image, but I wanted to note this talk by my mate Mike Leigh-Mallory. Mike is a great guy, a passionate naturalist who has struggled to get recognised in the conservation world. We first met as he wanted to present programmes and had some great ideas. Sadly nothing came to pass. So he gave up his job and now has time to do projects others only dream of. Last year he set up the Taunton Peregrine Project. Simply this involved erecting cameras and nest boxes on the top of Mary Magdalene church in Taunton. In reality this was not a simple task and it nearly failed, but funding and a lot of effort from local sources saw it happen. Best of all in 2018, a chick fledged from the tower, with a blue leg ring TT. Despite not feeling that great still, I wanted to support Mike with this his first public talk at Ruishton just outside of Taunton. I am glad I went but wasn't really on the best of form sadly. Kept my coughing to a minimum though! A good guy Mike.,

Wednesday January 23rd 2019

 

That's snow on them thar' hills. Strictly speaking there is snow on the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons. They may be 30 miles away as the crow flies but when the snow falls on the mountains, it's as clear a day to notice the change. There must be half a dozen days when snow falls in wales but in this warmer climate of Somerset, nothing happens. Of course the mountains are over 1000 feet higher than here, so you'd expect snow there first. Still, it's always a bit of a surprise. Lovely sunrise today too. And in a throwback to yesterdays posting, I did sit looking at the snow while having toast.

 

Tuesday January 22nd 2019

 

I do love my morning toast. Not every day can I be found pushing slice into machine. But it's as good a start to the day as I can think of. Unless you are gluten free. Then not good. But this morning the breakfast tray was brought to me, allowing me an additional 10 minutes to sit on the end of the bed and gaze out over the fields. I've done this for as long as I have lived in this house. Gazed over the fields towards Wales. Sometime the skies are full of birds, and other times nothing stirs. But that 10 minutes just sitting doing nothing before work, is often a saviour to my busy day. Normality and toast. Bliss.

Monday January 21st 2019

Continuing my theme of reflections as well as continuing my trying to get healthy plan, this lunchtime I spied some lovely bark on this plane tree whilst walking my 1.5 miles back to the office.  Now I'm not sure why, but I wander up and down here most days having deposited the automobile somewhere remore and windswept. Yet today this tree, or at least the trunk of it caught my eye in Clifton Village. I was mesmerised today by this absolutely normal phenomenon. The plane, or London Plane tree as many call it is a real urban survivor. By shedding it's bark in patches, it's believed it sheds itself of accumulated pollutants and therefore the fresh bark allows oxygen to pass through in an altogether unhindered way. That said, I just loved the patterns and stood for a while reflecting on the brilliance of nature and the natural world. And it's beauty.  Us fragile spongy humans find it impossible to protect ourselves against airborne particulates unless we put on a funny mask and goggles. But a 'lowly' plant has the ability not only to repel pollutants but to adapt and survive. Nature never stops amazing me. Nearly made me late back in the office I stood there for so long. 

Sunday January 20th 2019

A surprisingly busy day at Tyntesfield today. Weather not great, but the January blues do need removing from our lives, thus in the visitors came in their droves. Which is how I like it. Not having enough to do is in many ways a lot worse than having too much to do. Well in my book anyway. I just love it at Tyntesfield, sort of works for me as a person and being a volunteer, I can disappear when my shift is over not wondering what needs doing tomorrow. Which makes a lovely change. Worked on a couple of hours longer than the rota for various reasons, but on emerging into the light at 3.30pm, I thought, I just fancy a hot chocolate before I drive home. Lovely it was too, although I had to work out my own staff discount as the poor wee lassie in the 'pod' was so cold she couldn't think straight. Another reason to hurry up the warmer weather, but then we'll complain it's too hot.

Saturday January 19th 2019

A simple image which cheered me up more than I could say. Across the garden we have a number of solar powered lights. They're dotted around the garden and apart from looking quite nice, do occasionally show a bit of wildlife wandering about, like a hedgehog, or the neighbours cat. However since November they haven't come on in the evening. Simple really, solar power needs sunlight and in mid winter the rejuvenating rays are somewhat lacking. However tonight after an unusually bright day and indeed a few days of off and on sunlight they were all on. A sign that spring is advancing as the sun climbs higher and higher in the sky, one degree at a time. This image was also taken after 5 pm when there was a little bit of dusk blue sky. Not long now (I'm obsessed)

Friday January 18th 2019

The pastime of knitting. I bought Julie some wool for Christmas. I know, it was an extravagant gesture. But apparently this is good quality wool containing silk and, err well, wool. It's multicoloured wool on a single thread, thus boasts a kaleidoscope of what I think I could describe as autumnal colours, ranging from a deep blackberry, through to a golden orange.  Julie is a new convert to knitting and enjoys it, with most evenings seeing us on the sofa together and the feint clickety-click of needle against needle, while I sit there being annoying and taking photographs of her. Which is because I like the subject of a silhouette of an activity beneath one of her fabulous pastel drawings, of a Bedlington terrier. It could be Laser my late and much loved Bedlington who died a long time ago now, it's that good.

Thursday January 17th 2019

This film met expectations. It didn't disappoint. And it ended a busy but very fulfilling day. Meetings, chats and catch ups and a necessary day off. So late in the afternoon when all that was over, to Wells in Somerset to see this wonderful film. There are some great films out at the moment, well written and trying not to be too clever, and in the process of which being very realistic and believable. The visit today was all the more memorable in that afternoon showings are Tea Matinee events. £6.50 per ticket gets an adult (that's me) into the cinema, a cup of tea and three biscuits. If I was old with white hair and wearing beige I could get in for £6. What a palava these OAP's get into choosing where to sit. It's like a septuagenarian version of musical chairs, without fanfare. In the end they were all huddled in one area of the seating, leaving huge areas unoccupied. Safety in numbers I guess. Just sit down and watch the film!  And the film was a cracker. Steve Coogan was a doppelganger for Stan Laurel, John C Reilly played a blinder as Ollie. But the two supporting actors, Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda, playing their wives were equally as impressive. A wonderful biopic of the worlds greatest comedy double act in their twilight years.

Wednesday January 16th 2019

In a sort of repeat of Tuesdays posting, these rings made by raindrops falling from a tree caught my eye. I've begun a regime of moving my car out of the multi-story carpark at lunchtime, thereby saving £5 a day in charges. However this also means a walk back to the office. Today it was raining. Nothing remarkable in that except its not really rained for weeks. Grey miserable weather yes, but not rain. It was nice to don my kagool and push on into the rain; walking in bad weather is always invigorating. As long as there's no danger. Heading off up the mountain in a blizzard, is just weird at best, suicidal at worst. Walking the 25 minutes back to the office in rain at 1pm just found me luxuriating in the elements. I'd mused on another reflecting image while on the Suspension Bridge, but couldn't quite capture what I wanted. To capture the reflection of Brunel's masterpiece in the wet surface. Then at a near halfway point I spied this puddle. Perfect, trees in its reflection but raindrops braking the mirror with regularity. I'm sure people passing by were wondering what I was upto, but this is the sort of thing which excites me. Everyday, mundane but in a different light or mood. More rain please.

Tuesday January 15th 2019

I've become a bit obsessed in recent days with shadows and contrast at night. Partly as a result of  walking back to the car at night after work. Partly loving the light and shade which shadows produce on the landscape.  A street lamp silhouette on a car door. Bare branches against the moon, or in this case, branches against the footpath, back-lit by a streetlamp. It is not a great photo, as it has been taken on my mobile, but an illustration of what intrigues me at the moment nonetheless. Doubtless there will be more of the same in the months to come, tonight however this image started the ball rolling. 

Monday January 14th 2017

End of an era I guess. I have a new regime now to both get fit and save a pretty penny. I'm still parking in the multi-story car park near work in the morning. Then at lunchtime I move the car to a free parking area over the Suspension Bridge and walk back to work. This fills in a lunch hour and is good for me otherwise I'd just work through lunch and be exhausted. And the fresh air, coupled with  3 miles a day exercise makes me a happy boy.  Plus I'm saving £5 a day in parking charges by leaving within 4 hours before 1.30pm. 

However at the Clifton end of the Suspension Bridge the two toll booths have been mothballed since before Christmas. I'm not sure what age these are, but guess late 1960's or early 70's. They will soon be rubble, so today I grabbed a quick snap before their demise. Shame I haven't managed to get one without the builders fence, but hey, it's a record. I've no idea what is being put here in their place, but this weekend the Suspension Bridge will be closed for the big demolish. Progress is in play.

Sunday January 13th 2019

Visited Chipping Campden today on the way back home. And stumbled across the Ernest Wilson Garden. Venturing in I discovered this man who was born in Chipping Campden was non other than the famous plant hunter whose name is often found on plants Wilsonii. Shocking really that I had not heard of this person, nor knew he hailed from the Cotswolds. It goes to show, no matter how olde we are there is something new to learn, everyday, if we did but look for it. I'll write a fuller piece on this in my main blog I think. 

Saturday January 12th 2019

As the old joke may never have said,  I've been Bard in Stratford Upon Avon. Back on July 24th 2018 I was stressed,  exhausted and not a little fed up with the world. It was a ridiculously hot dry summer. Work was incredibly busy for reasons best forgotten and life seemed as though I'd had a load of rotten kippers dumped on me. Thus on that Tuesday lunchtime I went on line and purchased our joint Christmas present. A pair of tickets to see the Royal Shakespeare Company's version of A Christmas Carol, and a night of board and lodging in the Arden Hotel directly opposite the theatre. I'm at a stage of life where driving back from an evening event spoils the event. Make it easy I say. 

At the time of booking my mind flicked across a snowy January day,  frost hanging heavy on the air. It was six months away thus booking it in the stifling July heat I longed for cool.

As it turned out it was a mild January day that we found ourselves parking up in the Arden Hotel, grey overcast and unseasonably warm. I was in short sleeves. Never fear after tipping the concierge I sat in the room looking into the RSC shop. We were that close. Lovely. I've loved the work of the RSC ever since watching Roger Rees take central stage in Nicholas Nickleby in 1984 (I think). Back then the RSC did a six week Newcastle season. It was fantastic. I saw Nicholas Nickleby in a 9 hour single performance,  with three breaks. That hooked me into live theatre,  especially the RSC. Charles Dance cavorting unbelievable stage presence in a WW2 themed Coriolanus was exceptional. Later having a girlfriend whose parents lived at Evesham I started visiting the old Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford most performances and still try and get here as I can,  though it's a 3 hour round trip now. 

I'm not sure what the RSC does that appeals to me,  but their stage direction and use of minimal props really appeals. I recal watching Henry 3,  nothing on stage other than actors as soldiers in the battlefield. They held a tarpaulin overhead and rain cascaded down upon them for the big scene. I sat there mesmerized as the recreation of the outdoors enveloped me. Stunning. 

Tonight's performance was up there with the greats. Considering this is theatre,  the special effects could come from film. Simple lighting in the dark revealing the ghost of Christmas Future as a small girl dressed in funeral clothes at the back of the stage surrounded by dry ice. Seconds earlier she wasn't there. An example of how the RSC just does theatrical illusion for our emotions so well. Long may the RSC continue,  I just wish the Newcastle season had continued,  it was a huge part of my young adult life,  unavailable to modern Geordie generations. 

Friday January 11th 2019

This tree, although I don't know what species it is, is amazing. It languishes at the back of the Congresbury shops carpark. In summer it is a pleasant enough tree but in winter, the skeletal structure contrasting against the sky makes this one of those almost perfect tree specimens A shame then it does not languish in a field from which we could view it from afar. It's like a dome, or an Afro-hairstyle. Almost symmetrical. Walk around it it is symmetrical in all directions, as if some child has drawn the perfect tree for a prefect house in their perfect picture. I'd been to Tyntesfield today having a day off and so in-between my shift and visiting the house for a tour, for once I had time to stop and stare on the way home. We should all stop and stare at times at the everyday. For what is life without the jewels of joy nestling in amongst the everyday tedium. At Tyntesfield first thing a song thrush welcomed me as I arrived. I listened for a while to its repeating vocalisation cutting through the atmosphere like a honey balm in milk. Later by the house a robin redbreast perched on a tightly cut holly dome. Red and evergreen, should never be seen, but together if spotted, stare a while, besotted. 

Thursday January 10th 2019

Technology is good. But also a right Royal pain in the posterior. Our newish washing machine allows 20 different settings, amongst which about 4-6 different settings within each of the first 20 settings. In the onld days you switched the machine on, it cleaned your socks, then switched off. Now it's more complicated. I had a single jumper to wash after pouring a sizeable chunk of pasta bake down it at suppertime. So selecting the 15 minute wash I settled down to watch the last half an hour of Endeavour (of all the Morse, Lewis spin offs, I like Endeavour the best). I digress, except for the reminder, 15 minute wash, 30 minutes of TV programme to go. 32 minutes later the washing machine stopped as 2202 precisely. I furtled about inside the drum and although the jumper was clean, it weighed the equivalent of a sack of potatoes. It needed an additional spin. Selecting spin cycle, 13 minutes to revolve at 1400 rpm. Really!! So off I went to make a cup of tea and stood watching the time count down on the laser display board. 2 minutes to go, my excitement was literally boiling over, 2...1....0.....yay my prize awaits me. It then reset itself to 10 minutes and started again. Why? It's just spent 10 minutes in a veritable vortex of moisture repellent. So I switched the machine off. The safety door catch usually unlocks at 1 minute after the washing cycle ends. 11 minutes later it still had not unlocked. Cunning came to the fore, if I select a new washing cycle, it may unlock. Hay presto, it did and I could now retrieve my jumper at 2245 precisely. Having begun this with a 15 minute quick wash at 2130. I could have hand washed it in 5 minutes. Progress. Humm!!

Wednesday January 9th 2019

At last the sun has shone. This dull and depressing weather is really starting to weigh heavily on people. It's nearly a month now since this quiet spell of weather arrived. I was lucky as being in the North East over Christmas we had day after day of sunshine. My friends and colleagues however in the South West have been shrouded in dark cloud since well before Christmas. No real rain, no real wind, just dull, still dark days. At least it's warm. Thus today with a spring in my step, I crossed the threshold into the January sun. Spirits were lifted, thus as I passed the Royal West of England Academy, I popped in for a hearty soup - roasted walnut and sweet potato, with a chunk of Hobbs bread. Gazing out of the window while siphoning up the delicious liquid, all seemed right with the world, as I feasted mine eyes on the chaser cold drink.

Tuesday January 8th 2019

5pm in Bristol today. How happy has this scene made me. Almost light at home time. The wheel of the year is slowly grinding itself in the right direction for me, towards the light. I don't mind scrabbling about in the mid winter dark, but love it when each day it feels like change is a-coming. Tonight's image took me by surprise as we have had days and days of grim, dark overcast days. More miserable than a miser spending money. Mid afternoon however the sky rent itself open and the sun came out. By the time I found myself hobling over to the Club for a cuppa, this vision of pale blue loveliness made my walk back to the office, just a little lighter, maybe even with a skip or two. Next milestone, this light at 6pm. Normally mid February. By then the natural world will be waking well.

Monday January 7th 2019

So the question really is, why? And of course the obvious answer is, just because. Twelfth night today, Epiphany. The twig has to come down. However I woke this morning feeling like I'd been run over by a steam roller. Nothing specific, just an inability to get out of bed easily. I tried to get into work, but after 5 minutes driving my 'turn round young man' thoughts had hit a crescendo. So I have been home all day, slightly festering in front of day-time TV - Sweeney, Professionals and Lovejoy were especially wonderful. Such a good job we bought a new television on Saturday otherwise I may have missed these gems of the 70's and 80's.  By the evening I was beginning to feel like a human, so  finally the painted twig has been taken down.  It was easier to cut it up to get it out of the house, an idea floated into my mind. An art instillation around Julie's cutting patch. Terrific isn't it? Not sure the sparrows approve either!

Sunday January 6th 2019

A nice refreshing brew in the Strawberry Line Cafe. Quite a bizarre but enjoyable morning. I recently produced a programme in the series Open Country, on Radio 4. This aired last week. The subject was The Strawberry Line, a Dr Beeching closed branch line which in recent years has taken on a role of connecting communities along the way once more. One of those communities featured was the Strawberry Line Cafe. This cafe provides both paid and volunteering work for adults with learning difficulties. Thus wanting to support this wonderful charity I thought I'd pop over there for one of it's breakfasts. I contacted Chris Sperring the presenter of the programme and we decided to meet at 10.30 today. Although Chris had then posted on social media it could be a meet and greet the producer breakfast, my planned quiet Sunday morning was destined not to be as quiet as I thought. In reality just a few people turned up and it was a good morning just chatting over coffee. Nothing too onerous. Followed by a 3 mile walk along the Line itself to Congresbury and return. Plenty of birdlife along the line including a pair of territorial robins fighting on a post, which Chris put on Facebook Live. A great recreational and community assert in this North West corner of the old ceremonial county of Somerset. Just a shame the weather remains as it has done all week, grey and overcast. 

Saturday January 5th 2019

I found this image of Christmas trees dumped at the tip quite sad. As well as ecologically depressing. Less than a month ago, these real trees will have been excitedly purchased. Maybe the whole family arrived at a garden centre or somewhere similar, words ringing out "let's buy the tree today". If it's anything like as complicated as when I was a child, the choosing of the exact, perfect tree could take hours. Mum was in charge in my day. Dad would pull tree after tree out of the pile and mum would twirl it around in a movement which those on Strictly Come Dancing would be proud of. Eventually one would fit the template and in a few hours would rise again in the bay window, resplendent in tinsel and trimmings. Then, like today, at Twelfth Night, down it came. Ours were often burnt on the open fire. 

Today however at the recycling centre, piles of once living things lay discarded in a huge skip. Less than two weeks ago these silent evergreen, doyens of the wildwood, oversaw joy and happiness as families came down on Christmas Day to excitedly open presents. Before that the thrill of decorating the tree and that first "ooooh" as the lights were switched on for the first time. Less than a week ago these same trees saw in the New Year. Each quietly witnessed dancing, fun, popping of bottles of fizz and enjoyment in the warmth of the festive home. Today however, their practical use is over. Shambolic they lie destined for their final journey in the coffin of compost chippings. A short life, maybe ten years if lucky, from seedling to being chopped down in their prime for a few short weeks of glory. A metaphor for many aspects of modern life. The life of a throw away society, we indulge ourselves in these days. That ever increasing cycle of anticipation, purchase, use and then rapid displeasure. There really is joy in bringing a Christmas tree into our homes, but before we take the tree down, stop and reflect on what we do in the light of Christmas. 

Friday January 4th 2019

We all need a little sparkle in our lives in the days after Christmas. If we are not careful these post Festive weeks can be quite dull and depressing. Not for me. I've been experimenting with the camera. This is our Christmas Twig. Not a tree, but a branch lopped off from the hedge behind the garden. I've not had a real tree for a few years now, and this year returned to my childhood with a branch, painted white. Something my father did a few times in the 1960's. It always struck me as a cool thing to do. I also thought it was because of his arty background and career. But he told me this year the first time he painted a tree was on a Boxing Day in the early 60's, after the real tree had shed every needle before Christmas Day. Not quite as Bohemian romantic as I remembered, more practical necessity. 

For a few years now I've loved experimenting with rotating the camera 45 to 90 degrees while taking an image. I love the effect. The aim is to have the centre pin sharp, or as much as possible, with the periphery providing movement and pace. I've obtained some quite dramatic images doing this, but I'd never tried it with a lit tree at night. I like it a lot. The top image is using the camera's own auto setting. However the middle image was a manual 1/8th of a second shot. I love the individual sparkles of light. Jagged and jerky because this is a hand held image. Making me think how much more fun would it be to have the camera on a fixed pivot, such as a tripod. Humm, that's got me thinking.

How the twig really looks

Thursday January 3rd 2019

Breakfast at Tiffany's, well Alma Road to be precise. There is often a sizable flotilla of pigeons around the base of this tree in Clifton. I'm not sure whether it is local residents or passers by, but often there is a smorgasboard of comestibles on offer. And a gaggle of pigeons hoovering it up. One day I walked by and there was a mountain of cooked noodles here and hundreds of pigeons. The mind boggles to know where they all came from. This morning however two cheeky jackdaws were muscling into the party. Inching forward slowly I managed to get to about 1 meter away before they looked up. Even then they didn't move, so intent were they on devouring the breakfast trough. A great opportunity to observe the fabulous patternation of these feral town dwellers. Some could be a doppelganger for their wild rock dove ancestors. But others are a wonderful soft peachy fawn colour. Really beautiful in fact. And then there's everything in between. We often just wander past pigeons with out a care or a second glance, but I recommend next time you pass these aerial rats as they can be cruelly called, please do stop and do stare. They are much cleverer birds than we think. And fascinating.

Wednesday January 2nd 2019

I do this every year, but it probably won't last. First day back at work and I left home earlier than a sparrow to the feeders. For the plan was, and became to walk the 1.5 miles from where I park to work. And to continue doing this through the year. What a beautiful morning. It confirms how isolated we all are from the natural world which surrounds us when we drive a car. Certainly I enjoyed driving in, singing along to Radio 2. But once I'd parked up, my perambulation over the Suspension Bridge and into Clifton was a joy. A cold joy, but a joy nonetheless.  This back lit 'old mans beard' caught my eye within a few strides. Trapped and entwined within a metal fence, it maintained a beauty all of it's own.

Once on the Suspension Bridge, not one but 2 song thrush were in full song, one each side of the Avon Gorge. That repetitive double call is a joy and a sign that, although early still, spring is knocking on nature's door. Aside from the melodious Turdus philomelos, robins, blue tit, jackdaw, goldfinch and dunnock all serenaded me as I headed to a tree I look at every year. And yes, there they are, snowdrops. Every day through the hot dry summer of 2018 I'd pass by this tree in Clifton and say to myself, under there are snowdrops. They'll be up in 6, 5, 4 months. Snowdrops are the start of the year for me. And here now, on January 2nd, they're poking through. Not the first Gallanthus I've seen, but these are special, because I know this area like the back of my hand, I know where they are, even when they're hidden from view, they'll return each year as if by magic. Nature, is remarkable.

Tuesday January 1st 2019

Cheltenham racecourse on New Years Day. A good day out indeed. Before I met Julie, now Mrs Dawes, I'd never been to a race meeting. I'd watched it on the television and placed the odd bet on the Grand National, but never visited in the flesh. The first racecourse to make my acquaintance therefore was Cheltenham, as it's a favourite of Julie's. Even I admit it's not a bad place to spend New Years Day. The place was packed, as you'd expect. Bank Holiday, ITV televised racing and weather though not as sunny as forecast, most agreeable to the middle aged pair carrying their own lunch. Honestly we are such a pair of skinflints. Smuggling egg and cheese rolls (or buns in my part of the world) into a complex dripping with eateries.  Around us champagne flowed, more tweed and leather than you could throw a crop at. And there's us with a home made picnic. And why not. The racing was good. I have no idea what is going on but Julie does and in the bottom image can be seen rushing over to the inner enclosure to watch a race. That's her mid stride in red half way across the track. I took that image from the Members Stand. Not sure I was meant to be there but having been ushered into this hallowed portal by a race official, I wasn't going to leave quickly. One doesn't like to mix with the pledeinoides you know. We didn't place a bet today either, just luxuriated into the atmosphere and relaxed, for it is work tomorrow for both of us.