I confess I’m not a fan of winter, it’s my least favourite season. Yes, I love Christmas: enjoying festive celebrations with family and friends, decorating the house, seeing the lights in London. And I can get pleasure from crisp sunny days, perfect for a walk whether in London or on a Northumberland beach. But I don’t like grey skies, and I especially don’t like the shorter days and longer nights.
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It might surprise you to know that London can be a good place to spot wildlife! Tucked into a loop of the Thames in west London is a watery wonderland. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust was founded in the 1940s by the naturalist Sir Peter Scott, to protect wetlands and save wetland species.
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I often go on a bit about the weather (I am British after all, and live up to that stereotype at least!) This month has been particularly ‘interesting’ in that respect. We reached pretty much the middle of the month without once seeing the sun, but also without any rain. All we had was gloom!
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October this year has been a month of two halves. In the first half we were in California, road tripping around several stunning national parks, and, for a couple of days at the end of our trip, in Las Vegas. In the second half we were back home, getting over the jetlag, sorting a virtual mountain of photos and picking up the threads of daily life.
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After a day with lots of rain in Paris, followed by one with none at all, today’s forecast was for sunshine and showers. We decided on another walk, with the possibility of a couple of small museums for shelter if the rain became too much.
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They say we should never go back. And yes, sometimes when we visit old half-remembered haunts we can be disappointed. They may have changed, and we almost certainly have done so. How pleasing when instead of disappointment we find delight!
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We have had plenty of rain this month, including during our anniversary trip to Paris. But we also had a week of Indian Summer, with temperatures in the mid 20s and plenty of sunshine. And it would be premature to talk much of ‘leaves of brown’, although they are starting to turn and some indeed have tumbled down.
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Where the River Brent flows into the Thames west of London lies the suburb of Brentford. Its name is a clue to the origins of what was once a small settlement pre-dating the Roman occupation of the country. Today, like many London suburbs, it has interesting pockets of history squeezed between more recent and not always attractive developments.
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On the first day of our most recent visit to Paris we got wet – very wet! But we had a lot of fun too and found some places to explore out of the rain that made the day memorable. After all, what is a bit of water if you’re in your favourite city?
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One of the things I most enjoy when exploring a city is photographing the little details of the buildings. Carved stone, wrought iron, weathered wood; all these things add to the picture of the city streets I hope to create. Doors especially are full of such details: knockers, handles, decorative features.
