One Final (Probably) Visit to Vanuatu
In December 2018 I spent a couple of weeks in Vanuatu for what may well be my final visit. My partner works in International Development and is like to have only one more assignment there. It is a beautiful country and claims, with some justification, to have the most friendly population in the world. Of […]
Galungan and Kuningan Celebrations, Bali 2018
I was pleased to return to Bali again in June/July, especially as my trip coincided with Galungan. Galungan marks the beginning of the one of the most important recurring religious festivals in Bali. It celebrates the victory of dharma over adharma. It is a time when spirits of relatives who have died and been cremated return to Earth […]
Ulting Wick Gardens, Essex, April 2018
Last weekend I visited the Open Day at Ulting Wick, near Maldon, Essex, as part of the National Gardens Scheme, Some nine thousand tulips and other spring plants were in bloom in the warm sunshine. I do enjoy the sight of a traditional brick-built greenhouse, whatever the size. The main focus of the trip was of […]
The Peregrine - a Classic Nature Book Set in Rural Mid-Essex
I’ve been aware for many years of ‘The Peregrine’, by J A Baker, as a classic of nature writing, although I have never read it. What I did not know was that it is set in the countryside around my home in Little Baddow, Essex, as described in this Guardian article from last weekend, which mentions […]
November 2017: Autumn Turns to Winter in Little Baddow
Early on a bright late November morning I set out with my camera to photograph the turning season. The sun was low in the sky and beginning to cut through the mist and frost. Geese drifted aimlessly on the lake behind the canal, The sun was rising over the horizon, obscured by light cloud. A […]
Bristol at Night
Sometimes you take a photograph that turns out not quite as intended, yet offers unexpected pleasures. When I recently visited my daughter and her husband in Bristol, we went out to dinner in Clifton. It was a warm, dry evening, so we decided to walk home, following a route that went down Constitution Hill. I […]
Brief Encounters in Timor Leste
When visiting other countries it is only courteous to respect local people and ask their permission before taking their photographs, and to recognise that in many places the majority simply do not want to be photographed. The people of Timor Leste are an exception. Seeing you with a large camera, they will often invite you […]
August 2017: The Beginning of Autumn
I'm sure that autumn arrives a month earlier than it used to. On my early morning walk today, the first of August, there were definite signs. I was pleased that my secret supply of wild raspberries was not completely exhausted. These are hidden in a remote part of the local woods that not many know […]