In My Garden

A few mornings ago I awoke to a sight I hadn’t seen much of over here in Sussex, England this month — blue sky and sun. So, after some coffee and toast (with peanut butter), I grabbed by camera and headed out into the garden. Time to commune with the flowers and the bees.

 

 

 

New Year’s Day Walk

It was good to get out for a long walk this morning after the festivities of New Year’s Eve. The sun shone and I grabbed my camera, heading out to the Bedelands in Burgess Hill, West Sussex near my home. It was early and aside from a few early bird dog walkers, I had the forest and fields pretty much to myself.

 

 

Frosty Morning

I did a lot of moving around last year — three different flats in North London, West London and Sussex, two weeks in Canada, six weeks in Morocco, a week in France… don’t get me wrong, I LOVE moving around. I’m a Sagittarian after all. But some of my good habits went out the window with this peripatetic life  — especially my morning jog. Now, I’m not a runner — I am a very slow jogger. I’d be an annoying jogging partner to anyone who wants to feel the burn. But jogging at a tortoise’s pace, rather than a hare’s is okay by me. It makes me feel good. I listen to the birds, breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the sun — or wind — or, most likely  in England, rain — on my face.

Now that I’ve settled, for the time being at least, in a pretty rented flat in Sussex, with a park just outside the backyard, and with the dawning of the new year, I figured it was high time to dig out those “good shoes” of my blog title and stretch my legs around the park. So far, so good. For the past week I’ve been working my way up to 10 times around the park (up to 7 now) without stopping. And I’ve been reminded of the perks of being out early on a frosty winter morning.

Good morning, sunshine! And a Happy New Year to you too.

 

Autumn in my Garden

It was a lovely autumn day today — sunny and a bit chilly, the sky a crisp blue and the grass damp with dew. The flowers are showing their last flashes of colour before the frost, and I had to get out to take some photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Morris Dancers

I was walking down the sidewalk in Brighton when I heard the jingle of bells. Yes, like jingle bells. But it’s May in England, so it wasn’t Santa. No, no, no. As I walked along the sound grew louder. I turned a corner and there they were — Morris dancers. In full regalia, congregated in front of a old Sussex pub, drinking beer, tuning their fiddles, and jingling.

They were from Guernsey, and they knew their stuff. Beers down, they picked up their fiddles, accordions, guitars, drums and tambourines, and, jingle bells tied to their knees, they twirled and line-danced, flicked white hankerchiefs and bashed sticks in a centuries’ old English folk dance ritual hailing spring.

The crowd grew, drawn by the music, and the shouts and growls of the forest monsters.

Just a typical spring day in Merrie Olde Englande.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_dance

 

Spring in a Victorian Cemetery 3

I was so inspired by my day taking photos in my local Victorian cemetery that I’ve got more to show you today. Spring has definitely sprung.

Spring in a Victorian Cemetery 2

The sun finally came out today after two weeks of chilly damp drizzle. It was time to grab my camera and head out to the Victorian Margravine Cemetery just around the corner from my flat and see what Spring has been doing there.

      

   

 

            

   

    

 

   

 

I think I spent the day in one of the most beautiful places in the world today.

Spring in a Victorian Cemetery

There is a Victorian cemetery near my flat, and I walk through it most days on my way to the Underground. I love the walk — the peace only broken by the caw of citrus-coloured parakeets (there’s a colony nesting in the trees) and rustle of leaves as squirrels chase each other around the headstones. This squirrel played statue while I took his photo — can you see him?

Spring literally arrived overnight. The sun came out and spread carpets of snowbells and crocuses over the fresh green grass.

And, here and there, a flash of yellow, as daffodils unfurled.

a street away from the bustle of London on a busy weekday morning. Just me and the squirrels and carpets of flowers.

Trafalgar Square

The sky was a fantastic blue today, so I headed into London to see the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, then had a wander around Trafalgar Square. There is something about the winter light which is so crisp and pure on a sunny day. I didn’t have my Nikon with me, but I couldn’t help but play with the camera on my iphone.

I liked these nattily dressed young Londoners.

You’d think you were in Canada, what with all the flags on Canada House.

Phone boxes.

The blue chicken! Oh, the blue chicken! Love!

And, of course, Landseer’s lions.

Nelson (he’s up there somewhere).

A broad sweep.

London Skies

The clouds hung like smoke over the Thames this morning, pressing the sky’s ceiling onto London’s skyscrapers…

…and landmarks.  Tower Bridge…

…and the Tower of London.

An hour later I emerged from my meeting and patches of blue were starting to push through the clouds…

…painting the glass skyscrapers.