A Weekend in Puglia, Italy – Part 1

I was lucky enough to be invited down to Puglia, Italy last weekend for a design conference held by the Italian Trade Commission. No need to ask me twice! I packed a carry-on and headed off to Stansted Airport to catch the Ryanair flight to Bari.

After a day meeting Italian suppliers, I got up early on the Sunday morning to catch the beautiful early morning light. I had a walk around the grounds of the lovely hotel Masseria San Domencio in Fasano, and managed to capture some images as the sun was rising.

It’s nice to remember there are places with blue sky in December.

At the London Zoo

It poured today. You could say is rained cats and dogs, which would be appropriate since I spent the morning making photos at the London Zoo with four other intrepid photographers on a photography workshop run by Nigel Wilson (www,photographycourses.org.uk). I  must admit I had limited success, spending most of the time faffing with rainsleeves and foggy lenses, but the morning was redeemed by the tigers….and the elves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

A Weekend in the Dordogne France

I am just back from a long weekend in Sarlat, a beautiful Medieval town in the centre of the Dordogne region in central France. My Italian friends, Winehippie and Drumguy, have bought a guest house there which they’re fixing up for the 2015 season. We’re got a great deal — I give them some advice on design and decoration, and they feed me delicious meals and wine and put me up in one of their guest rooms. A great barter!

In a Victorian Cemetery

There is an overgrown Victorian cemetery in Stoke Newington, North London. In the centre of it, boarded up and decaying, is a Victorian church, its Gothic spires piercing the sky like spokes on a broken wheel. Ivy has taken hold, climbing over the old angels and urns, and moss softens the footsteps.  It’s quiet here. But the squirrels are busy gathering nuts for winter, and the silence is lightened by birdsong. I love to walk here and read about the people who’ve gone before.

Last Day in Morocco

It’s the last day in Morocco. Too fast. I go for a walk in the village by the river. I walk slowly, hoping to stretch out the last hours.

Good-bye Morocco.

A Berber Farm in the Mountains

It was nearing the end of the day and Berberman turned the car down a dusty road and headed into the mountains. “Where are we going?” I ask. “For tea with some relatives.”

We had some tea — delicious, sweet mint tea. And then the golden light pulled me outside.

Autumn in Sussex

I was down in Sussex for the weekend at Tootsie‘s to celebrate a belated Canadian Thanksgiving. It was all about Jamie Oliver‘s roast chicken, roast potatoes, lots of veg and super delicious home-made pumpkin pie with whipped cream (my favourite!!). We’d worked up an appetite with a walk in the Sussex woods, and I took my Nikon along to practice my landscape photography.

The colours weren’t quite the vibrant mix of Canadian reds, yellows and oranges, but it was a beautiful day with a clear blue sky and a touch of chill in the air. On days like this, autumn is my favourite season.

Pyracantha Haiku

Berry clusters hang

from pyracantha branches —

autumn’s fiery pearls.

Lithodora Haiku

Summer’s sky clings on

to lithodora petals

wet with autumn rain.

Halloween

Well, it was all about Halloween yesterday, so I was off to Tootsie’s house for a kiddies’ Halloween party. Hankenstein and Wineguy were skeletons and Tootsie and I were witches, while Bubby was a cat. Wineguy, Hankenstein and I headed to a neighbour’s for a mini-party followed by sparklers and trick-or-treating. When we got back, the house was full of cobwebs and bats and pumpkins and lots of goodies to eat. I think half the children of Sussex were in the house at any given time, and much screaming, playing, dancing and eating ensued. All very very scaryyyyyy!!!!!