The Silly Season!

I've been busy all last week and over the weekend and though I've thought about sitting down to write something I haven't got round to it - must try harder!  The spur today has been something I picked up via twitter. The famous toy store in London, Hamleys has decided to use live Reindeer and Penguins as part of a Christmas display. Amazing what unadulterated greed will do isn't it? How can they possibly think this is a right thing to do? If I wasn't in deepest Devon I'd be picketing the store - I do hope some people picket/complain/write angry letters/blog/tweet - anything to get this stopped. The Silly Season indeed, though I think that's a bit of a kind description for this sort of lunacy.

Fenced in.

No Words

The Weekend

The annual trip to Cornwall for the "Golfing Weekend" is over. As usual the food was superb, impeccably served with precision timing - how DO they do that?  The golf was good, so I'm told, and my trip to some gardens with 4 other golf widows was hilarious - I was a first timer among this group and wasn't ready for the level of humour and ever so slightly outrageous behaviour - nothing too raunchy you understand but the guy who gave us directions to the Park & Float looked a bit cautious as he approached the car!

When we arrived at said gardens all 4 of them instantly disappeared into the shop. Not for them wandering around admiring the budding Camelias and stunning autumn foliage - it was straight into the Christmas gift section waving purses and credit cards - I followed. Not only followed I bought, several things though I was well outclassed by my companions, me who always thought she could shop for her country!  I'd better get into practise for next year!

No Words

Mending nets

Chained

Yellow Wellies

Bon Appétit

Early hours

Lying awake in the early hours of the morning isn't usually the best time to do any thinking. It's the time when the darkest thoughts and gremlins, previously shunning the light, flood into your thoughts. The circles you go round, and round. And as I did this last night the one word that came in to my mind was "boring"  I think that that is what I must have become..........either that or it's how I am now perceived............

Paddle your own.....

Snail

I think I'd like to be a snail, you know, carry my worldly belongings around with me, go where I please, retreat when threatened, to the safety of my shell. All I have to do then is avoid being stepped on or eaten - wonderful - just like any other life really.

Weekend

I've had packing to do today, for a weekend in Cornwall.  It's a regular trip to a very lovely Golf and Country House Hotel with a superb restaurant, beauty salon and swimming pool. I've never ventured into the latter but the beauty salon is very good indeed. While the gents and one or two ladies play golf on Saturday the rest of us either head for Truro for some retail therapy or indulge themselves with a facial or massage.  I have yet to decide which I will do but I expect a walk round the grounds and down to the shore with my camera will feature.

St. James, Okehampton.

Winter

Winter is definitely here - two mornings of really heavy frosts followed by a night of torrential rain - what next? The frost was good for photography but not for my car as the drivers door froze solid. It was great fun getting in the passenger side and climbing about. Fortunately I'm a bit more nimble than I thought!
As the Shogun is in the garage for some investigation I am driving around in the loan car - well really it's a roller skate, but a bit of fun. No good for photography as I can't see over the hedges.  I hope mine is back with me soon.

Warming the tyres.

Word

What's the word I'm looking for? You know, when nobody knows you're there….. Oh yes……, invisible. Rotten feeling.

Morning view down the lane.

Sleep

Through the hedge across the road.

Sleep..it'd be good to get some…..several uninterrupted hours of it would be good. It's getting two or three hours then waking up for a couple then maybe sleeping till it's past time to get up that is the current problem.  :(  Doubtless it will regularise itself eventually without recourse to pills and potions. Weather has been awful but the reward this evening was a beautiful sunset.  Silver linings and all that……….

Back

Yesterday I woke with a really bad back, this morning I was up and about as if there was nothing wrong! I can't help but wish for some consistency but then I might end up with the pain full time so I'll stick with what I have. So today I should be back to normal - whatever that is. No more trips out……but then I might find something interesting to do today, you never know what will come your way…..do you :))

Home again

I have had a wonderful weekend in Oxford, meeting up with friends who, like me, have a passion for photography. We walked miles, stopped frequently in coffee shops, climbed to the top of a Church Tower and wandered round the very beautiful Botanic Gardens. Fun and laughs were had and no one fell into the river or the fountain! As some people had commitments for part of the weekend Saturday night was the only time that we were all together. We had pre booked a table at Strada and had  a very tasty meal. There wasn't the usual scratching of heads and doing "sums" when the bill arrived as we had all had dishes from the set menu - at past dinners I can remember calculations being done on serviettes and much discussion about who had what etc etc !!

All too soon it was time for goodbyes and we went our separate ways, with all the usual promises to see each other again soon. The good thing is that we are in touch with each other almost on a daily basis through our photography. Already photographs are on various websites for us all to see. So we get to relive the happiness of time spent in the company of good friends.

In Oxford Botanic Garden.

Late afternoon late with the promise of rain to come!

Autumn colour  against the mellow stone.

Home

Yesterday was good, tiring but good. I must have walked miles looking at the wonderful architecture. I visited a gallery in Whitechapel High Street, walked down Petticoat Lane again and got myself right up close to the "gerkin" or as it is rightly called 30 St.Mary Axe. I took photographs of it and nobody shouted so I must look like a fine upstanding British citizen, not intent upon mischief.  Or something!!

The tube strike caused mayhem at the end of the day, with the car, booked for 4.30pm unable to get to the rendezvous. A taxi was hailed and so the tortuous journey began with the driver taking every "rat run" he could think of to avoid the queues. There were huge lines of people waiting for buses, over 100 extra had been put into service. Our arrival at Paddington Station was alas, 3 minutes too late, though the wait of 16 minutes for the next one was hardly  a problem.

My overall thoughts on London - wonderful to visit for a few days and it'll be great when it's finished!!

The tranquility of Dartmoor - Bliss.

Travel

So I have survived a day of sightseeing in London. Saw a lot of the famous places, some only from a distance of course! The Tate Modern was every bit as vast as I remembered it, the intertwining galleries take a bit of following. I can't say that I was overly impressed with the Dreams and Surrealism Exhibition - too much gloom and angst and too little colour. I was about to head for the door when I turned a corner and came face to face with Monet's Waterlilies and suddenly the trek round was worthwhile.  After lunch in one of my favourite restaurants, right next to St. Paul's cathedral I wandered back to the hotel via the Square Mile - the financial district - all the famous street names - Threadneedle Street, Cheapside, Bishopsgate.
Not sure how today will pan out as there is a Tube strike - more walking I guess.........

Somewhat surrounded and dwarfed.

Off I go

I don't find it easy to make decisions when it comes to travel. Probably because I find the whole event quite stressful, or maybe I'm just a home bird! Carrying luggage, rushing for trains/planes etc. Why is there never enough time, however early one leaves? Left to my own devices I would drive everywhere. Load the car, get in and go. Stop when you wish, start when you wish - simple. I could never quite understand the advert "let the train take the strain" well that's just fine but it doesn't stop at my door. I have a 25 mile trip to a station, a car park to pay for and then a trek to the platform. And on the subject of platforms - does anyone EVER travel from the one  right at the entrance - I don't think so. There are always stairs to climb, bridges to cross……. Airports are similar - I'm sure that the gates right by the building are there for show, the ones in use are a mile long trek along marble corridors ( well perhaps imitation marble in most cases) ending in poky lounges with not enough seats. Anyway I made a decision to travel so I must go and load the car ready for the trip to the station……….

I wish that this were mine - then I'd have to cut down on luggage ;)