spring springing in putney 

someone forgot the thames is tidal but we tried not to smirk 

gone to lunch !

we walked beside the river the day before the boat race

someone had left their pride and joy on the slipway, perhaps not realizing the river is tidal, not just low

of course, we tried not to smirk

an illuminating juxtaposition in battersea 

not that we get a lot of vampires in putney ... 

hammersmith bridge with natives 

a dear old routemaster in the twilight of her years 

saturday morning still-life 

millenium gas holder - built to last  

Is it a gig ? 

conservatory at the horniman museum, a nice little tea break on the south circular ... 

sheila evans' birthday

those of you who know sheila evans' tastes for horticulture will understand why i am looking for a second hand conservatory as a late birthday present

it was today & i forgot, even though we've been friends for thirty years !

this particular model is out of stock at the moment but i'll try again next year

just the spot for a bit of moonlightin' 

what used to be ferry wharf, portslade, now part of shoreham docks

you'll probably be seeing more pictures from this area because i drive by twice a week

it's a pity the firm don't have their own cheese & olives wharf here with little boats coming in from spain & greece & wherever; then i wouldn't have to drive back to london with an empty van

17th century cat tiles from portugal 

i've been neglecting her rarther badly ...

my wonderful friend fiona loves cats & i should have posted these 17th century ones to her as soon as we got back from lisbon

i forget them but at least it gives me the opportunity to share them with you

the sad skellington of brighton's west pier 

chaos at the metropole

i left the house at five and cycled to work

by 0745 i was unloading in worthing next door to a burning mosque

i went to the metropole at brighton at 0845 and there was a queue of people waiting to deliver

the hotel is extra busy because the conservative conference is on but they don't seem to have any extra staff in the back of the house

we have other customers, not so big but equally valued, so i dashed off to a couple of villages in the far east of sussex and came back seventy miles later at 1115

this time there was nobody on the back door so i drove off to another remote village between horsham & guildford

then i stopped for lunch

eventually the delivery was made at 1430, one hundred and thirty miles later and only five and a half hours late

stressed, moi ?

and another thing ... brighton council should be ashamed of the mess they got into with the west pier, just look at it ... still, mustn't grumble !

a tree within a tree ? 

trees are family

trees have an insidious way of establishing themselves as objects of affection

after half a lifetime of only wanting to look at girlz & wimmin, you suddenly discover an affection for trees an all

i'll try to take a few tree portraits as spring progresses, and whenever the progress of the cheese juggernaut can be halted in the narrow lanes of kent & sussex

here he is again ! 

out of strength comes forth sweetness

my friend laura was right about the lion and the bees

see the blogger anenglishmanscastle for the full story

i still like my false interpretation & will have to redesign the picture accordingly when i have a moment

a little gem from an unquotable, sorry unattributable, source ...

Don’t you think you owe it to yourself to give me another orgasm ?

not much scenery today 

shaun displays effortless skill 

shaun needs a holiday

so he's flying off to barbados for a week

he's taking his own sardine sandwiches because he doesn't think much of airline food

he's also rather worried about the escalating price of drink in the caribbean so any charitable contributions will be gratefully received

shaun's tow truck 

some drivers have all the fun

just as i was heading for home at edenbridge there came a call to say that shaun's van was in the ditch near "cheeseworks" which is in a "high" part of kent near goudhurst & so I was sent over to see how things were

the snow was melting & shaun & the van were ok, having only slipped on a soft verge and sunk into the mud, but the monstrous american tow truck was well worth waiting for

sunday morning table arrangement 

sunday, bleary sunday !

it is my turn to do the dusting but in my mood i prefer re-arranging the titanic's deckchairs & playing with the new camera, hence the pointless bit of domestic scenery above ...

quacking dolphins on shoreham lighthouse 

posh masonry at shoreham lighthouse 

a luvverly day

left the flat at five and cycled on frozen snow that crunched and cracled all the way through the side-streets of putney & wandsworth to nine elms

near croydon around seven there was more snow and it flopped down in big wet looking flakes on a robust looking lady who was crossing the street in four-inch black stilletos

on the south coast the sun shone & i stopped between worthing & brighton to photograph the shoreham lighthouse

i love the curved "pedestal" and the tiny carved apertures that light the stair-well, the cast dolphins-heads, & the weather vane that's big enough to see a mile away, as a seafarer under sail might wish to ... if only someone would gild it !

the things we do for money ! 

tina schol

today is tina schols birthday

everyone should stand to attention for a minute's silence

... then the drinks are on me !

happy birthday, teen !

innocent looking lisbon tram about to embark on white knuckle terror ride 

lisbon is lovely

those little trams are cute & the 28 tram ride was the most exciting thing since the roller coaster at new york, new york on the strip in las vegas

the people are lovely & the food was great, especially that "killer" bread soup with garlic & coriander that etches your tastebuds & makes the wine taste so much sweeter

but our poor feet ached from walking miles on rough cobbles in unusually cold weather

portugese food from the web 

whoa, were going to lisboa

flying out on thursday, back in time for a sunday crumpet,

where shall we eat ? any ideas ?

the burghers of belmarsh 

the burghers of belmarsh

spotted this rodin sculpture on my round-the-long-way home this afternoon