08 Tuesday Aug 2017
Posted in Photo post, travel, Tuesday Photo Challenge
Back to Nature this week with some golden blossom, confettied on the ground. I spotted his in Carmona, Spain.
This is in response to Frank’s photo challenge this week = “Golden”.
See http://dutchgoesthephoto.net/2017/08/08/tuesday-photo-challenge-golden
28 Friday Jul 2017
Posted in Photo post, travel, Tuesday Photo Challenge
Tags
Dorking, Leith Hill Place, Surrey Hills, The Lark Ascending, Tuesday Photo Challenge, Vaughan WIlliams
This week’s photo challenge from Frank (his fab Blog is “Dutch Goes The Photo”) is WOODS
See https://dutchgoesthephoto.net/2017/07/25/tuesday-photo-challenge-woods/
A month or so ago, I took my music-loving, 92-year-old neighbour, Eva, to visit Leith Hill Place, childhood home of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Set in the beautiful Surrey Hills, at the foot of woodland, this house is a step back in time, full of musical history and a haven from our crazy modern world.
Eva loved it. She recalled seeing RVW around Dorking (our home town) when she was younger; he sported a too long jumper and dishevelled hair!! Nonetheless, an amazing man who produced some breath-taking music, including the beautifully evocative “The Lark Ascending”.
My photos show a stunning tree with the most photogenic roots, beautifully set off by some recent rain ……… and a glimpse of Leith Hill Place, itself.
25 Thursday May 2017
Posted in Photo post, travel, Tuesday Photo Challenge
Frank, whose fab blog “Dutch Goes the Photo”, has set “Street” as the topic for this week’s Photo Challenge.
See https://dutchgoesthephoto.net/2017/05/23/tuesday-photo-challenge-street/
Dare I say – this challenge is right up my street (Ha ha!!)
Even though I now live in a small town in Surrey (UK), surrounded by countryside, I’m still a city girl at heart, having been brought up in Manchester. I LOVE buildings and architecture and can walk my little socks off quite happily just treading pavements for hours!! Street art is another fascination of mine so features a fair bit in this post.
Photos included: old fish market building in the Northern Quarter of Central Manchester plus some street art there. The last three photos are of birds painted recently in West Didsbury, a suburb of Manchester, by Brazilian artist Mateus Ballon.
With the recent shocking and tragic news which has shaken Manchester, this post feels particularly poignant. Manchester is a great city, with fabulous people, but sadly others with their own agenda have done the unspeakable and sent shock waves round the world as a result. My heart goes out to all those affected.
21 Sunday May 2017
Posted in Photo post, travel, Tuesday Photo Challenge
Frank, whose fab blog “Dutch Goes the Photo”, has set “Travel” as the topic for this week’s Photo Challenge.
See https://dutchgoesthephoto.net/2017/05/16/tuesday-photo-challenge-travel/
Travel to me means …………….
Just being in the moment, a sense of freedom, a source of inspiration, a childlike excitement of new places, people and stories, a delight to all my senses, a gentle recharge.
And let’s not forget the all important opportunity to take far too many photographs. Ha ha !!
Some of our happiest travels have been in Thailand, so I have included a collage of our trip back in 2012. Most of the images were taken in Chiang Mai, but both the branch with the pretty flowers and the separate photo of me on the old bike were taken at the ancient site at at Kamphaeng Phet.
26 Wednesday Apr 2017
Posted in Photo post, travel, Tuesday Photo Challenge
Frank, whose fab blog “Dutch Goes the Photo”, has set “RGB” as the topic for this week’s Photo Challenge. What does this mean? Simply, he has set the challenge to post a photograph featuring red, green and blue.
See https://dutchgoesthephoto.net/2017/04/25/tuesday-photo-challenge-rgb/
Yesterday found me at the wonderful National Trust property “Polesden Lacey” in Surrey. The garden is quite a picture at the moment and I hoped to capture some red-green-blue shots. Wandering around it seemed increasingly unlikely and at one point I even considered stalking a robin to see if he would oblige in posing next to the forget-me-nots, but sadly it wasn’t to be. I came home thinking that I had failed.
Then I started reviewing my photos and was amazed to find two shots with the right colours showing. I just hadn’t realised at the time!!!
One is a shot of the cottage garden.
The other is of some old seed packets showing vibrant pictures of the flowers – and voila – red, green and blue are there. I’ve included a few more shots of these, as I was rather taken with them.
Finally , I’ve included a photo which I took last week in the late afternoon sun, featuring some BLUEbells, dandelion and the red brick of our house.
And there was me thinking when I first saw the challenge that I didn’t stand a chance!! Nature has come up trumps. 😊
19 Wednesday Apr 2017
Posted in Bach, flower essences, Healthy Living, travel
Tags
Antrim, Bach, Bach Flower Essences, flower essences, Giant's Causeway, Gorse, Hope, hopelessness, optimism
Yellow is such an optimistic and hopeful colour. It’s therefore no coincidence that after the grey miserable days of late winter, Nature blesses us in early spring with plenty of yellows on her landscapes. Golden crocuses, fluttering daffodils, tufted dandelions, cheeky kerria japonica, delicate forsythia, and striking gorse.
I took the above photograph of gorse recently at the Giant’s Causeway, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Dr Edward Bach chose Gorse as his flower of hope.
When all hope seems lost, when we choose to give up rather than fight, when life has lost its vitality, Gorse essence can inject some optimism and hope back into life. It’s like a ray of sunshine in an otherwise grey day.
Our emotional and mental makeup plays such a big part in our healing, and hope is one of those bright beacons in life that makes all the difference between giving up and having a reason to get up in the morning.
Hope and optimism raise our vibration, thus helping to improve our overall wellbeing at all levels.
24 Friday Mar 2017
Posted in Photo post, travel, Tuesday Photo Challenge
Frank, whose fab blog is “Dutch Goes the Photo”, has set “SPRING” as the topic for this week’s Photo Challenge.
See https://dutchgoesthephoto.net/2017/03/21/tuesday-photo-challenge-spring/
Spring has sprung,
Birds have sung,
A ditty or two in the sun.
Lambs do bleat,
As they find their feet,
Nature is having some fun!
Mother Earth blessing,
And busy a-dressing,
With a range of beautiful hues.
Buds are a-teasing
Daffodils breezing
As spring makes her welcome debut.
Unfortunately, just as spring started, the unseasonably warmish weather of the week before disappeared and, in its place, came grey, rain, and a chill wind – weather, not conducive to lots of photos (unless you are going for the blurred effect !!)
In a brief window of calm and sunshine, I took this photo of our local cockerel surrounded by a crowd of daffodils. Yellow is such an optimistic colour, and I am hopeful that there will be lots of warmer and sunnier days ahead 😊
15 Wednesday Mar 2017
Posted in Photo post, travel, Tuesday Photo Challenge
Frank, whose fab blog is “Dutch Goes the Photo”, has set “CURVE” as the topic for this week’s Photo Challenge.
See https://dutchgoesthephoto.net/2017/03/14/tuesday-photo-challenge-curve/
Instead of looking to nature, I’ve chosen a trio of manmade curves seen in Lisbon, a city served by a wonderful set of old trams and funiculars.
The first curve is of one of the many tram tracks in the city. The second curve is seen in the doorway to one of the funiculars, and finally there’s a detail to the entrance to the main railway station. 
28 Tuesday Feb 2017
Posted in Photo post, travel, Tuesday Photo Challenge, Water
Frank, whose fab blog is “Dutch Goes the Photo”, has set “STRUCTURE” as the topic for this week’s Photo Challenge.
See https://dutchgoesthephoto.net/2017/02/28/tuesday-photo-challenge-structure/
One of my passions is for architecture. I don’t know a lot about the subject but I do know a good building when I see one!!
Manchester, UK is full of interesting buildings so I was rather spoilt for choice as to which photos to choose. I decided to show a few of Victoria Baths, because they showcase two different sorts of structure.
The first is the actual building itself, a robust but beautifully constructed brick structure, opened in 1906. It had a strong purpose – as municipal baths – but it must also have delighted the senses as it was highly decorated with mosaics and stained glass, and boasted Turkish Baths too!
The other structure is that of hierarchy. It was designed when women were deemed to be second-class citizens. In fact, not even that high!!! There were separate doorways for “Males First Class”, “Males Second Class” and finally “Females” (gee thanks !!). Entrance was the least of the insults. The women’s pool was graced not with fresh water, but water which had first been used in each of the men’s pools. Health and safety had yet to be invented!!
For some reason, I don’t have a picture of the building in its entirety outside, just the doorways. Mmmmmmmmm – I feel an expedition with my camera to explore further coming on ……………………
20 Monday Feb 2017
Posted in Healthy Living, Inspiration, Inspirational Quote, Monday Inspiration, Photo post, travel
Tags
“Why worry if you can do something about your problem? And why worry if you cannot?”, Genoa, Inspiration, lion, Monday Inspiration, San Lorenzo, The Dalai Lama, travel, Worry, worry quote
I came across this lion at San Lorenzo Cathedral, Genoa the other week. He looked SO worried and made me think of this quote !!!
“Why worry if you can do something about your problem? And why worry if you cannot?” The Dalai Lama
