A sight to behold

A few weeks ago (Monday of the week of the riots) I had the best adventure I have had in a long time! My friend Mara sent me a text to tell me that there was a sofa on top of a bus stop on Mansfield road, and I almost fell off my chair! I immediately grabbed my coat and camera, and left the house on the hunt for a sofa related spectacle. En route I saw this dining room delight:

I didn’t believe that it would still be there, and I didn’t know whereabouts on Mansfield Road it was located. I briskly walked towards town eyeing up every single bus stop, excited at what I might see. I was getting closer and closer to town and thought my luck was running out, when I saw a rectangle silhouette on top of a bus stop and I almost jumped with joy! I turned around to tell someone ‘Look, look it’s a sofa on a bus stop, this is very rare indeed.’ but no-one was there. Mansfield Road is reknowned for odd characters, and I was fitting in just fine.

Perfectly placed council poster! I agree that putting a sofa on a bus stop is ambitious.

I crossed the road excitedly to make sure I saw it from all angles.

I walked home with the biggest smile on my face and an exhausted battery on my camera.

 

Types of time

I was having a conversation this week about the different types of time and how it becomes increasingly more difficult to make time for everything. I have been musing over the different types I think there are all week and categorised them as follows:

There is obligatory fun celebratory time, Weddings, Birthdays, leaving parties. There is fun time ‘just because’ which often happens without too much planning, like a trip to the pub on a Friday night. There are breaks away and adventures, camping, festivals, holidays. There are catch ups and chats, this usually involves drink or food as the centre point, pub, cafe or cups of tea on the sofa. There is inbetween time, usually on the way somewhere, to the shop, to work, on the train. Necessary time, work, life admin and sleeping. Relaxation time, watching TV, cooking, reading, sitting, going for a walk. There is also development time (couldn’t think of a better word for it!), learning, thinking, making art, trying something new. This list is not exhaustive and obviously everyone is different, but for me at this point in time these are the main ways I spend/organise my time. On Thursday evening I spent my favourite type of time, the fun type!

Me, Amy, Haydn and Al drove to a pub near the river Trent which was super lovely as one minute I was sat on the sofa watching one of the many terrible programmes I watch and the next thing I knew I was going for a drive. It was so good to get out into the countryside; there were beautiful reflections in the water and a very nice looking bird.

 

Photography Expedition

At the end of February Amy, Haydn and I went on an expedition to take photos. It was such a great Sunday afternoon activity! We went to Rufford Park and I was taught how to use depth of field. I have used this in the past but I have always struggled to retain the information (anything with numbers falls out of my head!). The weather was a bit bleak and we were very chilly, but we perserved and had good fun! Here are my favourite photographs:

Close up

Close up

Looking up

Looking up

Puddle

Puddle

Rain drops

Rain drops

Red

Red

Snowdrops

Snowdrops

Tree 2

Tree 2

Tree 1

Tree 1

Wind power

Wind power

Afterwards we sat down in the warmth of the cafe and had well deserved treats. I had a cup of tea and a blueberry muffin.

Merry Blooming Christmas!

I’ve had such a lovely Christmas! I’ve eaten, drank and documented to excess. On Christmas eve eve I saw a sofa which was an early Christmas present for me and probably a relief to the person getting rid.

Then on Christmas morning we had a ‘Pollyanna‘ moment in our living room. The sun was shining through the window, so we strategically placed the glass star in it’s path to create beautiful shadows and moving light. The cats thought it was all for their benefit, but they do think everything put on earth is for their benefit!

Then we went sledging, which is something I haven’t done for a very long time. It was so much fun although I wasn’t a natural talent. For all the chaos and grief the snow has caused people, you cannot fault it for the way it makes everything look beautiful!

Coastal walk

I have been away from the day job for a week now and have had a most wonderful break. Al and I went to Exmouth, Devon to visit my Grandma, go for walks and drink lots of ale. Grandma was on great form and we had such lovely conversations and huge amounts of laughter.

The weather was sent to turn on the Wednesday so we thought we should take advantage of the good weather on Tuesday for a long walk. We went from Budleigh Salterton a beautiful beach with a wildlife reserve to Otterton, a small village with a pub called the Kings Arms that sold Otter Ale and had a pub cat called Garfield. En route we saw stunning coastal views, a building called Brandy Head and a ghostly out of season caravan site.

I had three camera’s with me which might seem slightly excessive but they all came in useful. My SLR was the most used but I am ashamed to say the auto function is my comfort zone.

Saw this post it note on the beach with its biblical reference about evil deeds. You can click on the photograph to view its full size.

This was the bin in the toilet. I canny get enough of this kind of wear and tear.

There was an outdoor BBQ which would be an amazing setting for cooking fresh fish.

Sign post saying ‘POLITE NOTICE PLEASE KEEP TO THE FOOTPATH. DO NOT STRAY ON THE GRASS AREA, SOWS CAN BE VERY PROTECTIVE OF THEIR PIGLETS. PLEASE KEEP DOGS ON THEIR LEAD. THANKS.’ You can click on it to see the full size photograph.

We spent a lot of time at Brandy Head. It was such a beautiful building in beautiful surroundings. It felt like a discovery of sorts (even though it had a sign up telling you all about it). The reason for it’s name is because smuggling activities were rife along this coast, one of these being kegs of brandy. More recently it was used in World War II to test new aircraft mounted cannon and gun sights.

At the end of the coastal part of the walk there was this eerie out of season caravan park at Ladram Bay. Even the post box was out of order.

When we got to Otterton there was this lovely building weather worn paint.

Finally we arrived at the warm pub called the Kings Arm. Here is the pub cat Garfield. He sat on my lap which was such a great end to a great day. We drank Otter Ale and ate crisps which felt deserved after taking so many photographs!

Underfoot

Went to Cannon Hill park in Birmingham today and the leaves are beautiful! Took many photos of the floor.

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Mushy peas and mint sauce

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Today the weather was beautiful. Autumn has arrived and bought the sunshine with it. I love crunching leaves under foot. One thing that there wasn’t was that crisp air, it was very warm indeed and my wooly jumper was prematurely warn.

We had a walk around and I took a few photos. Out main interest was to get our mitts on mushy peas and mint sauce, something I only eat there.

On the way home we stopped in at Ali’s for a cuppa and that is where I saw the chair and the briefcase. They looked so good together but I can confirm they are not discarded goods but simply sunbathing.

Putting one foot in front of another

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Goose fair is on in Nottingham so the traffic is a bit bonkers. I decided to walk home and didn’t think about the route but instead got lost in thought and put one foot in front of another. I walked a different way to I would normally go and spotted some great chairs!

 

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Birmingham walks

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I have had a lot to think about recently and decided to go to Birmingham to get away. I always enjoy seeing my parents and there is almost always a walk involved.

Stevie and I parked just outside of town as you get free parking and a nice stroll along the canal. We were en route to the Ikon gallery to see Donald Judd exhibition which we thoroughly enjoyed.

In the afternoon we made fruit compote from apples and pears in the garden. Ridiculously wholesome. I wasn’t the most help as was a serial yawner.

Boating Discoveries Part 2

On the second day of boating, Al and I went for an explore and found a chair graveyard. I was very over excited and started to climb to find more. It was amazing how disguised the chairs were amongst the undergrowth. I have yet to find an appropriate word for how it makes me feel when I spy new chair sights, but it is a lot like the feeling of finding something you forgot you had.

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