Near the English border with Wales sits the historic market town of Shrewsbury. Founded in the Middle Ages it still retains its medieval street patterns and some buildings from that time. It was an important wool trading centre for many centuries.
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Photographing a tree, a complete tree, can be a challenge. Stand back to get it all in the frame and perhaps other trees may block your view, or the drama of the tree’s size be lost within the bigger picture. Sometimes you can capture its strength best by stepping closer and focusing on the details.
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The hills of Shropshire are part of my childhood memories; my grandmother lived in Shrewsbury and we visited often. There were often family picnics in nearby Cardingmill Valley, and a recent mini holiday in the area gave me the opportunity to rediscover this beautiful spot.
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‘If you go down to the woods today …’ We all know that the ‘big surprise’ in the woods of that childhood ditty is a teddy-bears picnic. But what about a surprise in a park – what could that be? On a recent visit to London’s Green Park, the ‘big surprise’ for me was a herd of seventy elephants!
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The elegant Georgian house at Osterley Park was once home to the wealthy banking family, the Childs. Queen Elizabeth I visited the manor house that once stood on this site, and the present house, designed by Robert Adam, has seen many other wealthy and important visitors over the years. The view of the house from the far side of the large lake is particularly pretty, even on the November day when we last visited.
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A wildflower is usually defined as a flower that grows in the wild, that is, it was not deliberately seeded or planted. Springing up wherever there is a spot in which to grow and thrive, they brighten our walks and provide nectar for bees, butterflies and other insects. In return those insects distribute their pollen and cause more wildflowers to spring up.
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At first glance the land formations of this small country park look quite natural, if a little manicured – some small hillocks with ponds at their base. They are anything but, however! This is not nature, but art – art on a very large scale.
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When we think of gardens and garden flowers we usually think of colours - lots of colours. But there is something particularly restful about a garden that has nothing but white, and shades of green. And by limiting the colour palette, texture and patterns of light and shade come to the fore.
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I love to travel and see other lands; I love to spend time in the country, time by the sea, time among mountains or deserts. But I am a city girl. I was born in London and this is where I belong.
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The first computer my husband and I bought had a memory of around 500 MB. The second seemed a huge advancement at a whole gigabyte! Today I have 32 GB in my phone, i.e. 64 times as much, and 64 GB (128 times as much) in the memory cards I use in my cameras. And yet that first computer of ours was of course a massive advance on the earliest computers.
