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Gallery: a September selection (2026)

October 1, 2026 / 42 Comments

Exert your talents, and distinguish yourself, and don’t think of retiring from the world, until the world will be sorry that you retire.

Samuel Johnson

I used to smile when I heard retired people say that they didn’t know how they ever found time to work, they were so busy in their retirement. But after this September I know more than ever what they meant! I could barely fit in everything I wanted/needed to do this month even without ‘proper’ work to occupy me.

September travels

We were away over the first weekend, celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary in Trieste (as a change from our usual Paris). Another weekend was spent in Newcastle, for a family wedding. And a few days before the end of the month we were off on a longer trip, to the Caucasus region.

Busy at home

Because of that trip I’m preparing and scheduling this post in advance, and not including any photos from the very end of the month. But I have plenty to share without that! In addition to our travels I had responsibilities close to home. As I mentioned in my August post, my photography group had an exhibition in a local church, as part of the Borough of Ealing Art Trail (BEAT). I was involved in hanging the images, hosting a private view, invigilating several sessions and finally (sadly) taking down the exhibition. We’re storing the photos carefully as we hope to stage the exhibition again in the future somewhere.

I also gave a talk to my U3A group about our visit to North Korea. It was the first time I’ve done any public speaking since I retired in 2020 and as I had about an hour to fill it took a lot of preparation (and a few nerves!). The talk was very well received, thankfully.

More relaxing activities included seeing Pressure at our local cinema (highly recommended) and an exhibition of photography at Japan House in Kensington. I also went to see Sense and Sensibility (on my own, as my husband isn’t keen on period dramas or Jane Austen). I liked it but like most admirers of her work, I suspect, found things that niggled me!

We had a couple of meals out together, and others with friends, including one of my Virtual Tourist friends visiting from Germany and another couple from the US. I also participated in several of my usual U3A activities: a visit to Eastcote House Garden, table tennis, art and Roman history groups. And I joined a new U3A photography group which met for the first time this month.

Technical notes

Most of the photos from our Trieste weekend were taken on my compact Lumix camera, while the remainder were taken on my phone (including the two Trieste night shots). As always most have been edited in Photoshop Elements and many also with Nik Color Efex. The one monochrome shot was edited with Nik Silver Efex.

As I’ll be away at the end of the month I’m scheduling this post ahead of time. I’m linking to Ju-Lyn’s and Brian’s Changing Seasons challenge, and to Natalie’s Monthly Wrap-up as usual, but I apologise if I’m slower than usual to acknowledge and reply to comments as I can’t be sure of wifi everywhere on this trip.

Please use the arrows to navigate the slideshow if you want to see all the images. My feature photo was taken in Trieste, from one of the piers that jut out into the bay.



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