St George's Day

Day 336

23 April 2010

I chopped a lovely rosy red apple up, to form the England flag. Clearly I have far too much time on my hands!

Happy St. George's Day!

Job

Day 335

22 April 2010

I was asked to take some photos of Vernon Lodge, which is a family-friendly B&B in Swanage. It was fun to head around the house and take pictures, and it's a lovely home.

Flora

Day 334

21 April 2010

I've been busy, today, so I haven't had time to think of photography.

This is partly down to the fact that I've been distributing petitions to various shops in the town. The petition asks people to sign if they agree that Dorset County Council should halt their plans to change the education system from a three-tier, to a two-tier system, forcing closure of the middle schools in Purbeck. Many people in Purbeck are against the option to change to two-tier, because there is a lack of funding available to provide an acceptable standard of education. There are also concerns that the council failed to carry out an Economic Impact Assessment, which will provide information on how Swanage would be affected if the middle school was to close. If you're interested in finding out more, visit http://www.educationswanage.co.uk/.

If you see the petition whilst you're out and about, and agree with the above, please sign it!

Market Day

Day 333

20 April 2010

It was market day, today. I walked around to see what was on offer, for the first time this season. I bought a few books for the kids. I am often amazed by the standards of young children's storybooks, because they are so beautifully written and illustrated. I frequently read to my children with a similar enthralled suspense to theirs. We recently discovered the thrill of reading Pippi Longstocking, which still holds its own despite being written 60-something years ago by a Swedish author; but the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe left my daughter enchanted, much like myself, who hadn't read it for years, let alone watched the film. Reading was always a pleasure for me as a child, and I'd spend countless hours curled up with a book, engrossed in another world. Nowadays, at the moment, children's literature is all I do read, but I will get back to those evenings of being curled up with a good book. I can't wait!

Hazy

Day 332

19 April 2010

Today there was a definite haze in the air. Dust had settled on cars, and there was little breeze. It was a beautiful sunny day, again, but in comparison to the weekend, when there had been bright blue skies, today was almost foggy, at times. I am assuming that it's all because of the Icelandic volcano ash that's drifting this way. Later in the day it got hazier still, and I wonder how long it will be before it clears.

Run, Run, Run!

Day 331

18 April 2010

Today I entered a fun run to raise money for one of the local pre-schools. It was a 5K run around Durlston and back to the school. It was hot, sunny, and...fun. There were around 25 of us running, including some serious Purbeck Runners. The run was a few hills, a few fields, and back again.

As a runner on hard ground, usually under cover of darkness so that nobody can see how daft I look, and when it's generally cool (or almost freezing), I found it a slight challenge. I was also up 5 times in the night with my son, who, for whatever reason, doesn't really want to sleep at the moment, but is partial to a 2 hourly feeding regime. I also had to get up at 6.30 so that my poor husband could go to bed for a couple of hours, having finished a night shift. I haven't been able to train for the run because of illness and so, after running once in 2 weeks, I went on this hot, hilly, grassy run, and came back at around 31 ish minutes, in 14th place. Not bad!

My friend Catherine made it through as the First Lady, which, if I'd been able to keep up with her all the way around, I'd have been just behind!

All in all it was a great, well organised event and a lot of fun to do. What made it all even more worthwhile were my kids, who came running up to me at the end and gave me a big kiss!And big thanks to my other half, who stayed up all day instead of going to bed to get some sleep before going to work.

Blues

Day 330

17 April 2010

Another beautiful, clear and warm day. The town was busy with last-minute Easter break-ers, and a lot of opportunistic gulls.

At lunchtime all the chippies were full, and the aroma of chips and vinegar were overpowering, and very tempting. But we resisted!

I've only just realised that there are a lot of blues, in these two images. I get drawn to various colours now and then, and blue definitely appears to be the order of the day. A beautiful, bright, zingy blue.

Silver Balloon

Day 329

16 April 2010

Having had a fairly sleepless night, I gave up trying sleep at 5.30 and got up, along with my fidgety and restless son, who immediately perked up as soon as he saw me buttering the first slice of malt loaf. He was shortly followed by my daughter, who was as chipper as a chippery thing, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and ready for fun and games. I was bleary-eyed and grumpy, and even the radio was a source of irritation.

A while later, and I decided to get out into the fresh air, and enjoy the sunrise. A surprising number of people were out and about, including an elderly gentleman who was watching the tide coming in from the comfort of his car. There were a few dog walkers on the downs; and the refuse collectors were out in force. I noticed this silver helium balloon being gently co-erced up the shore on monkey beach, and felt it was right for a photo for today. It stayed put long enough for me to take its photograph, before drifting away with the tide.

By the time I'd got back to the house, I felt much, much better. But a bit more sleep would have been nice!

Between the Cracks in the Wall

Day 328

15 April 2010

The plumes of smoke, ash and gas that are being swept from Iceland over northern Europe and the UK has bought the air industry to a halt. People are stranded at various airports, many of whom are unable to get back, and unsure of how long it will be before things return to normality, again. Iceland is on the brink of a geographical disaster.

It is the latest natural event in the world, amongst the earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and heatwaves, affecting regions across the planet. People are becoming increasingly worried and anxious about the earth, and how it is coming to an end.

Climate change is a hot topic at the moment. Everywhere we hear about how we should be cutting our CO2 emissions, how we need to find ways of generating energies to continue our way of life. I periodically receive emails about how I should sign petitions to keep the price of petrol down, that the oil companies are being greedy. People seem focused on finding ways of how we need to find a way to keep things the way they are.

It seems that there is an elephant in this big "room of doom", that of the peak oil debate: meaning that we are running out of oil, and yet rather than try to find ways of slowing down our consumption of fossil fuels (which will naturally lower our CO2 emissions), there is this clinging on to what we have, rather than trying to change our ways.

 I wonder how much oil is being saved from a no-fly rule, at the moment?

I wonder what the decreased percentage of CO2 emissions will be, over this time?

I wonder how many people will be trying to get back home via other means, and of them, how many are considering a change to their lifestyle?

My belief is that the earth is healing itself. The natural disasters that are occuring world-wide are to try to get the earth back on track, back to how it should be. It's not the end. It's the beginning of a new world. My love and thoughts are with anyone who is suffering anywhere as a result of the earthquakes, floods, storms, and heatwaves, and any natural disasters to come. I ask for comapssion, strength and courage to be given to all who will experience the changes we face. I ask anyone reading this not to scoff or laugh at this, but to really think. Really really think.

 Don't face the future with fear of the unknown. Enjoy what you have. Love the fresh air, the drizzle, the light breeze. Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin and experience that moment to its fullest. Love the sight and aromas of the beautiful plants, fruits, and flowers around you. Touch them and feel the coolness of the earth maintaining them. Be thankful for the earth's power to maintain your life with air, water, food and beauty. For, despite everything, the green shoots of new life come through all adversity. Even the flowers that grow between the cracks in the walls push through and live life to the fullest.

Love your world and all of those things that are around you.

Low Tide

Day 327

14 April 2010

The sun came out, the tide went out, the visitors appeared and hit the beaches. Kids, armed with buckets and spades, were seen all along this stretch of the beach, looking for something interesting. The grown-ups were interested, too, rolling their trouser legs up and taking off their shoes and socks. Allowing their feet to sink into the cold, wet, soft-hard sand.

Fun at the Skate Park

Day 326

13 April 2010

It's been gorgeous, outside, today. This afternoon we went out for a walk and found ourselves back at the park, where we all messed about in the skate park. Including me, who, I have no shame in admitting, did my best (and succeeded) to run up and down the slopes to get to the top. It was fun! My little girl found it a bit more of a challenge, but she made it in the end. My son was happy to tootle about on his big sister's scooter for a while.

This is Good!

Day 325

12 April 2010

I now have prints for sale in two places in town. One is Totally Local, which sells work of artists from Swanage and Purbeck; and now the Photographer's Lounge have four of my prints. I am very pleased with myself. I need to get around a few more galleries around the area, but I am too busy at the moment to get this going. One day, and soon, I will make time to do this. At this stage, it's not so much about selling stuff (although obviously that would be nice!), but about being recognised in the area and getting my work out and about. This is another breakthrough for me, and something I hardly dared imagine would be happening, with thirty days of my blog to go before I complete the year of this project.

The print is of a photo I love. It is featured earlier in the blog, and shows children running through a puddle at sunset. It was tweeked a little to bring out the colours, and then the image was turned  upside down.

Poorly

Day 324

11 April 2010

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I couldn't keep the lurgy away. It hit me with a venegence, last night. It didn't help that my son woke several times through the night, either. Today I have felt a bit better, but not great. This morning we all managed to get out of the house for a bit of fresh air. I've been trying to eat but it's a bit tricky! This is home-made tomato soup, which I made for my husband, yesterday, when he had the bug. I'm sure it tastes lovely!

I'll be fine, tomorrow. Whatever happens, carry on!

Free Cycle

Day 323

10 April 2010

Not much time, today. My husband has now caught the sickness virus from the kids, so I've been busy, as well as feeling queasy but in denial about it. Whatever happens, carry on!

I saw this bike - which until very recently, belonged to my friends' sons. To leave previously well-loved stuff out for passers by to consider and collect, is a regular event, around here. It's like the Honesty Box policy, where people leave out veggies or fruit or other items, with a box to put in a sum of money. This would never have happened where we lived, before. It's a comfortable reminder that we live in a great part of the world.

Fresh Air

Day 322

10 April 2010

It was so lovely to feel the sun on my face and the wind in my hair, today. My son was sick all night, so I was up countless times to help him and clean up. He's better today, though, and although I'm tired, it felt good to be out in the fresh air and feel the warmth of the sun. There were a lot of people milling around town, today, and the beach had a look more of summertime, with a large number of people enjoying themselves, Punch and Judy on the sand, and the amusements up on the Rec' open.

Dragon Egg Hunt

Day 321

08 April 2010

We went to Lulworth Castle, this morning, to go dragon egg hunting with some friends. The kids were kept busy looking for coins or clues, as well as having a try at archery (which was great fun), jumping about on a bouncy castle, watching a play, and looking around the inside of the castle. It has been a beautiful day, and we all had a lot of fun. It's pricey to get into Lulworth castle, but if you go to their website you can download and print a voucher which entitles free entry for one child per paying adult.

There was a procession of the gold and red dragon.

The top of the castle

A snow dragon. Beautifully constructed.

Fabulous clear blue skies.

                                                        A baby dragon, with a few piercings!

Big Kids

Day 320

07 April 2010

We went to the park with our friend, Sophie, and her daughter, with our kids, this afternoon. The park at King George's playing fields has a brilliant selection of climbing frames, swings, and all manner of things to keep kids happy for hours.

But the adults amongst our group couldn't resist joining in, too. This see-saw is fantastic: it spins around, whilst dipping down. It allows the rider to bounce their feet off the ground and gain height again, forcing the other person down. It's such good fun, the kids were begging us to get off so that they could have a go!

Next time you're at a park, have a go, yourself, and indulge your inner child!

Magnificent Magnolia

Day 319

06 April 2010

Another beautiful day, and another great day, spent with friends. We went for a walk, this evening, and saw that the Magnolia tree I photographed a few weeks ago is now in full bloom.

We also saw this duck with her ducklings in the stream which runs along and below the town. They looked happy and care-free, and very, very cute!

Boggy Field Football

Day 318

05 April 2010

This afternoon we went to the park and had a kick about. It was cool, sunny, bright and squishy. The field was boggy but it made for a soft landing for our son, and lots of fun for our daughter, who ran about playing happily for a long time.

Easter Sunday

Day 317

04 April 2010

We traveled on the steam train to Corfe Castle, today. The kids loved it. We went to the Greyhound Inn for lunch. The food is lovely, and the staff were really helpful, even though it was busy. Then we went into the castle for a couple of hours, to mooch about, admire the views, run about with the kids, and watch the many children rolling down the hills by the entrance. All under a wonderful blue sky, with the sun smiling down on us!

"Aaarrgghh!"

Day 316

03 April 2010

We have friends over to stay for the Easter weekend. We took the kids to the beach, albeit briefly, to stretch their legs and blow the cobwebs away. We all got soaked from the rain and the waves, but the kids were happy!

Sea Tea See

Day 315

02 April 2010

We went for a walk this afternoon. This morning the rain came down like stair-rods at times, which made it horrible and not at all fun to walk in. This afternoon, however, the sun came out, as did the visitors to the town. It was busy, but lovely to see everybody out enjoying themselves with ice creams, paddling in the sea, and drinking tea!

April Brings the Little Lambs...

Day 314

01 April 2010

...Skipping by their fleecy Dams

We went up to see my mum, this afternoon, and whilst we were there, we had a look at the sheep and the lambs in the fields.

The lambs are so cute! They were curious and didn't appear to be that wary of humans...yet.

Unlike the grown-ups, who know better.

This lamb is DEFINITELY smiling for the camera. Say Cheese!