testing, testing, testing .... olympus have repaired my camera ... i'm overwhelmed with happiness ... and gratitude

a bracing promenade ... but i'll stay in my nice warm cab

unkommon kritturs

seen near the arundel estate

maybe ...

http://www.thebeefsite.com/breeds/beef/61/english-longhorn/overview

bird talk

As I drove in to Ockenden Manor at Cuckfield on a dark day there was a commotion of a dozen blackbirds around the lovely high-walled lawn. They had gathered to harass a stranger, but seemed rather hesitant in the face of his/her own ebullient aggression. The only difference between them and him/her was colour … instead of being feathered purely in black, he/she was spectacularly piebald. I’d never seen a pied blackbird and was first startled and then enchanted. Sadly, my camera is away for repairs and I can only show you these vague images captured through a smaller lens … but you get the picture.

last saturday morning on clapham common ... there is an appeal for funds for tree planting

some stars, some stripes, chez micawber

this morning i was standing rarther listlessly at the kitchen sink trying to conjure up a suitably motivational role-model ...

hawthorn, yew, and some well camouflaged cherubs ... in fittleworth churchyard at sunrise

crossing clapham common with foxy

taking all the fun out of bath nights ...

a frosty morning

between cowfold and bolney, although the sky was clear and bright, my thermometer dipped to -9.5 degrees centigrade.

during the half hour or so of the school run, between making deliveries at christ's hospital school and at cuckfield, i stopped and pulled over to the side four times to give maximum space to oncoming vehicles whose windows and windscreens appeared to be impenetrably frosted.

by coincidence, each appeared to be driven by a woman with children in the back.

economy

all this week i've been driving with the fuel consumption display on and trying to stay light on the accelerator

during that time, i've got my average mileage per gallon up every day

at the start of the week it was about 14.6

today it was 18.2 which is not bad for a small truck

two kinds of swans trapped in the ice at southsea

the old bridge at stopham

near chelwood gate

about five cc of undiluted torres diez is burning a hole right through me

du temps recherches

on Sunday, instead of going out to do some casual work and even despite needing the cash-in-hand, i stayed home to read the last 250 pages of proust, starting in the wee small insomniac hours, and after a few diversions and interruptions, finishing just a little after bedtime

whew !

i'm very glad to have read it because there was much to entertain, enthuse, inform, amaze, and delight me, and even to stretch my less-than-elastic mind ... but there were times when he seemed "to go on a bit" and so i wished he'd hurry up and get to the point on several occasions ... however, overall impressions can be summarized as "hurrah, very well-done, and thankyou, a thousand times, dear marcel !"

99.9*% empty

the fancy dress store at clapham junction

glass from ellen