I don’t know about you, but logic tells me that there is no more reason to make a resolution to do something better / more / less on the first of January than on any other day of the year. And also that there is no more reason to believe we will succeed in sticking to that resolution then rather than on a different date.
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How often have you gazed at a stunning landscape, pulled out the camera to capture its beauty, and been disappointed with the results? All too frequently, flat lighting and dull weather can make the scene look so much less inspiring to the camera lens than it did to your eyes.
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Where the River Tyne meets the North Sea lies the aptly named appealing town of Tynemouth. In the summer this is a popular low-key seaside resort, despite the chill of that well-named sea. And in winter it is an equally popular place for a bracing walk, either on the sands or on the paths and promenades above.
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The relics of Newcastle’s industrial past are being transformed. And nowhere is that more apparent than on the banks of the Ouseburn, a small tributary of the Tyne just east of the city centre. Here there are still plenty of signs of that past, including old warehouses and the remains of glass furnaces. But many of the old buildings have been transformed into cultural venues including galleries and artists’ studios.
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After a busy September, October and November (Paris / Chicago / Madagascar / Paris) it was rather pleasant to have a quieter month. Not that I’ve been doing nothing!
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Nothing says Christmas quite like an abundance of colourful lights. Whether on your tree at home, adorning the exterior of houses or an official display, they lift the spirits and set the mood for a joyful festival. For those of many religions, or none, such displays symbolise the triumph of light over darkness, bringing warmth and hope during the winter season.
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While a photo can tell a story without the need for words, and words can do likewise without any illustration, the combination of both can be more powerful than either. Each month Paula challenges us to find photos to match her chosen words. Some seem easy to ‘illustrate’, others I genuinely find challenging. But it’s an exercise I always enjoy!
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It was the advent of the Great Western Railway in the mid nineteenth century that led to the scattered villages of Ealing, Gunnersbury and Pitshanger merging into unbroken residential areas, centred around the new station in what is now Ealing Broadway.
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September has been a lovely month, in several ways. The weather improved considerably compared to July and August, with a mini heatwave at the start of the month. I had two fantastic trips abroad and some fun activities closer to home too.
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Given that few of us are blessed with the language skills of Doctor Dolittle, probably the best way to ‘listen’ to animals is to observe them. And for many of us that often means a visit to a (hopefully) ethically-run wildlife sanctuary. There we can really take our time to watch animal behaviour, and listen to the experts who’ve made it their job to get to know and understand the needs of these creatures.
