Friday, 9 September 2011

Something For The Weekend

Hey! It's Friday! The weekend dawns.. with promise. I have some exciting plans for Saturday that I really hope I can pull off... watch this space!

I've been a bit slack about this blog lately... too little time, too much work, too busy planning other things... but I've been sorting through the photos I took while away at Aikido Summer School recently, and have compiled a random selection here for your entertainment...



A friendly dog on the farm


He seemed to live in a car boot/trunk



Pretty but deadly Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove)



Tea and scones at the quirky Riverside Cafe, Shrewsbury



Sunflowers at the Cafe



Statue at the Cafe



Rude garden gnomes



A hidden seat




Swans on the river


Happy weekend, everyone!

Sunday, 4 September 2011

Birthplace Of The Bard




Continuing with the theme of towns associated with famous Britons, I'm going to share with you some photos taken during a recent trip to Stratford-upon-Avon... a beautiful town, famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Although Shakespeare lived in London for many years, he retired to Stratford and spent his final days there....

"People usually are the happiest at home." William Shakespeare

Not the greatest day, weather-wise... it pretty much rained the whole frolicking time I was there! I'll definitely be returning someday soon (when the sun is shining!) to retake photographs of some of these places....


 The house on Henley Street where it is believed that William Shakespeare was born, circa 1564



 View of the side of the house in Henley Street



 High Street in Stratford-upon-Avon



 Gardens at Nash House, named after Thomas Nash, first husband to Shakespeare's granddaughter



 Gardens at Nash House



 Half-timbered buildings in Stratford



 Courtyard at Hall's Croft - home of Shakespeare's daughter Susanna, and her physician husband, John Hall


 The Great British Summer!



 The River Avon



 The River Avon, with the Holy Trinity Church (Shakespeare's final resting place) in the distance



 Anne Hathaway's Cottage - childhood home of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway


 Anne Hathaway's Cottage



Monday, 29 August 2011

On The Origin Of Darwin






Born in Shrewsbury on the 12th February 1809, Charles Darwin is Shropshire’s most famous son...recently voted as one of the greatest Britons. Darwin’s love and curiosity of the natural world was positively encouraged and flourished while he lived in Shrewsbury until he was 27.

Quite naturally, there are reminders of Darwin almost everywhere you look in Shrewbury....


Statue outside the town's library (formerly Shrewsbury School, attended by Darwin)


Darwin Gate Sculpture


Quantum Leap sculpture from the Darwin Bicentenary





















Darwin Graffiti



PS: Photos were taken on a quick trip to Shrewsbury, on a break from Aikido Summer School

Thursday, 25 August 2011

All A Blur

Well I'm back from Aikido Summer School, moreless in one piece and sporting a range of bruises in various shades of indigo to violet, with just a hint of blueberry. Thankfully, no broken bones!

I may have learnt a lot, but I can't really tell you what, as it has all merged and blurred into one. I certainly exhausted myself and pushed myself to the edge of my fitness level.

The highlight for me was the opportunity to watch the Dan grades in action...












Daddy's little helpers


I did get chance to do some exploring of the local area too, but more on that another day....

Friday, 19 August 2011

Summer Break



Thank [insert whatever deity you do (or don't if you're atheist) worship] it's Friday! And the start of a mini Summer break for me...although depressingly, this last week has turned distinctly autumnal, which kind of throws out my mini Autumn break planned for September. By then, it may be snowing...

Regardless of the shifting seasons, I'll be heading off to Aikido Summer School in the wilds of Shropshire this weekend, and hopefully doing a bit of exploring of the local area inbetween sessions on the mat. Our Sensei has hired a huge farmhouse to accomodate those attending, and it will be interesting to see how all the different personalities get along when forced to live together for a few days.... Tattoo Man, Get-A-Pedicure-Man! Man, and Hippy Chick (not me!) could make for an eclectic mix. People may start to get a little edgy.




Assuming I survive Summer School on both physical and mental fronts, I have a couple of day trips planned after that... but more on those later.

I'll leave you with a sunset show from Wednesday evening.....






You know the old saying..."Red Sky at Night, Sailors' Delight"? Well, what a load of old tosh.... it peed down something awful the whole of yesterday. Anyone would think Gerard Depardieu was in the vicinity... oui!, oui! (or rather wee wee?), the pee pee jokes have all been done by now, but Nat is usually slightly behind the times.


Take care everyone and catch up with you soon...


Tuesday, 16 August 2011

Flattery Will Get You Nowhere...

On Monday nights, you’ll most likely find me torturing myself at my boxercise class…basically, I pay four quid to be shouted at by Muscle Man (aka Boot Camp Drill Sergeant) for an hour, while I run around a chilly village hall and do squats, lunges and press-ups, drop dumbbells on my toes, question my sanity and dream of eating chocolates. And all this in the name of achieving a super svelte body (or at least trying to counteract my massive energy input with a teeny bit of output). Last night was no exception... except it was not Muscle Man taking the class (he’s busy sunning his muscles on the Portuguese Algarve) but rather his female counterpart.



Not the actual Muscle Man but some eye candy for the ladies on a slow Tuesday morning


The village hall backs onto a large, grassy park and recreational area, with basketball courts, a skateboarding ramp and children’s playground. Naturally, the place is popular with the local kids, making the most of the long summer evenings... although the area does have floodlights so they can use it in winter too. We do get the odd spectator, but generally the playground holds far more attractions than watching a bunch of “old people” running around in circles.

Yesterday evening, however, a couple of teenagers were extremely interested in the activities going on in the hall... especially when they noticed a pile of boxing gloves waiting for the punching session of the class...


Teenage Boy #1: “Look... they’ve got boxing gloves! We want to do that!” [Starts grabbing the gloves]

Muscle Woman: “You can join in, but you will have to pay for the class.”

Teenage Boy #2 “Why?”

Muscle Woman: “This is a private boxercise class, and we pay to hire the hall. Therefore if you join in, you pay the fee.”

Teenage Boy #2: “But what do you use the boxing gloves for?”

Muscle Woman: “We use them as part of the exercise routine.”

Teenage Boy #2: “But you lot ain’t fat! Why do you need to exercise?”

Muscle Woman: “That’s very nice of you, but we still need to exercise to stay fit. Are you going to pay now?”

The boys run off to the park.....



Wednesday, 10 August 2011

Variation On A Theme

I have a number of random photos that I'd like to share on here... so I'm thinking of arranging them into themes, starting with today's topic of...and this is especially for faye who is Sleepless In Gainsville and has a penchant for these things...

benches!

A seat with a view - Lake Moraine, Canada



City benches - Bruges, Belgium



Carved wooden seat - Osborn House, Isle Of Wight



Autumn in Basel, Switzerland



A chilly seat - Norway