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Gallery: a January selection (2023)
Thankfully this January didn’t bring snow to London, but it was certainly more than cold enough to make any feet and fingers glow! Personally I can’t wait for the warmer days of spring, although we’re not hanging around here for that but are headed elsewhere in a hunt for heat!
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A city stroll in London
The oft-quoted line, ‘when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life’ comes from a discussion between Johnson and James Boswell about whether or not Boswell's affection for London would wear thin should he be living there as Johnson did, rather than enjoying the city on occasional visits.
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Gallery: blowing the cobwebs away at Druridge Bay
Just a few miles north of built-up post-industrial Tyneside lies the wide expanse of Druridge Bay. Its seven miles of sands are lined with sand dunes and are just perfect for a winter walk. The landscape is an interesting mix, with wind turbines visible in the distance but otherwise feeling rather remote.
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Gallery: a December selection
December in London this year has delivered frost, a touch of snow, but also mild and damp weather; a little bit of everything. Of course it has also brought Christmas lights and decorations.
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Gallery: seeing the Sage in black and white
If you take a walk along the Quayside in Newcastle you are unlikely to miss the striking building on the far side of the Tyne, in Gateshead. Situated in the shadow of the Tyne Bridge this is a concert venue with two main auditoria, a rehearsal space, a music education centre and a leisure destination with several bars and eating places. It is also a must-see, and must photograph, building!
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Ealing, the Queen of the Suburbs?
In 1902 Charles Jones, Ealing’s borough surveyor, published a book. In it he referred to Ealing as the ‘Queen of Suburbs’. His aim of course was to promote the area as a place to live.
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Gallery: a November (and October) selection
We often choose to go away at this time of year and this year was no exception. At the end of October and through the first part of this month we were travelling in Nepal.
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Gallery: an ode to beautiful Northumberland (shhh!)
Are there places you know and love which you hesitate to tell others about, because you are tempted to keep them to yourself? Places relatively unknown that you fear might become spoiled if discovered by too many? And yet, they are so lovely you can’t resist singing their praises!
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Gallery: some favourite English flowers
In the last few years, with the batterings the world has taken – Covid, war in Ukraine, prices spiralling – flowers have been among the constants that have kept many people’s spirits up. The pandemic in particular reminded many of us to value the little pleasures of life, and what gives more pleasure for its size than a flower?
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Gallery: a September selection
There is a theme emerging in these monthly round-ups, a theme of bookends! I’ve already pointed out that while July was bookended by happy gatherings of family and friends, August was similarly bookended with funerals. And now we come to September and we are back to happier bookends: city breaks.
