Category Archives: photography

personal, photography, pleasures

Reasons to be Grateful: 26

Experiment, week 26. Continuing the experiment here are this week’s five things which have made me happy or for which I’m grateful.

  1. Half-Price Orchids. As previously blogged.
  2. Pork with Pesto. Also as previously blogged.
  3. Strawberries & Raspberries. Special treat for the weekend we bought some good English strawberries and raspberries. What a wonderful weekend breakfast.
  4. Sparrowhawk. As we arrived home yesterday afternoon the sparrowhawk darted across the road in front of us, obviously chasing after some hapless sparrow. It failed in its quest but we then had the delight of watching it gliding around for several minutes until it drifted away across the houses. So graceful in flight, and when they want so fast.

  5. Wellington Arch. As I mentioned earlier we visited the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner earlier today. Super views from the balcony including looking up at the Quadriga’s black bronze horses and down on the Household Cavalry (today the Blues & Royals) riding their equally black horses back to barracks after changing the guard at Horse Guards in Whitehall.
amusements, photography

Ace Signs

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I’ve been in central London this morning taking photographs for one of my projects. While there we took the opportunity to visit the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner. The arch has recently re-opened to the public. There’s a couple of small exhibition spaces and you can go out onto the balcony and get some super views of London. Amongst the small exhibition about Stonehenge there was this sign:

Druids Only

I can’t decide whether the juxtaposition of the press and druids is highly incongruous or immensely prescient.

Visiting the Wellington Arch is well worth the small admission charge if only to get the unusual views of London. It was reviewed recently by IanVisits, to whom my thanks as otherwise I would never have known it was open!

During the morning I also spotted this sign in Golden Square:

There's no Escape ...

Surely only in England!?

photography, pleasures

More Orchid Porn

Yes, here are some more orchid pictures. I cannot get over how fantastic these flowers are. First a new one I bought this morning …

Cream Orchid
Cream Orchid

I bought this rather nice greeny-cream with pink blush (almost a Hellebore colour; it’s much creamier than the photo suggests) orchid in our local Waitrose. It had been sitting there looking forlorn, very dry & tired and with a couple of wilted flowers for the last 3 weeks. I’ve looked at it every week and rejected it. Today when I looked at it the second time, I thought I’d ask if they’d sell it to me at half price. To my surprise and delight they agreed.

Having brought it home, taken off the wilted flowers and given it a good water it already looks 100% happier. OK, so it has only these three flowers and a couple of buds to come. But it is rather pretty and who knows I may be able to nurse it back into flowering properly next year.

I also bought this one at Waitrose this morning …

Pink Orchid

It is a very pretty blushed pink — much prettier than my photo shows. It is profuse with flowers and with at least another 8 buds to come, so well worth paying full price for it.

And finally another shot of one of the orchids I’ve had for some weeks and which is still flowering well.

Magenta-Veined Orchid

In fact all my orchids are still flowering well, the first has now been in flower for something like 10 weeks!

They look magnificent, especially when you put them all together in a nice sunny window.

As I say I can’t get over how fantastic these flowers are. OK so mine are all Phalaenopsis hybrids, perhaps the easiest of the orchids — but then that’s why they’re easily available and so cheap.

I really don’t mind, they just look stunning!

photography, pleasures, ramblings

A Curiosity of London

OK, so here’s one of the more curious of London’s accoutrements …

Buxton Memorial Fountain

It is the Buxton Memorial Fountain and you can find it in Victoria Tower Gardens, just south of the Houses of Parliament wedged between Millbank and the river.

Apparently it was originally constructed in Parliament Square but moved in the 1940s and placed in its present position in 1957. It was commissioned by Charles Buxton MP to commemorate the emancipation of slaves in 1834, dedicated to his father Thomas Fowell Buxton, and designed by Gothic architect Samuel Sanders Teulon (1812–1873) in 1865.

It surely has to go down as one of London’s more outré and colourful adornments. Not only does it have that “spire” of coloured encaustic(?) tiles, but it is carved with various animals including some very dragon-like iguanas/lizards.

Not the best of photos as it was taken on a horridly grey and, as can be seen by the puddles, rather wet Sunday morning.

photography, pleasures

Something Colourful for Another Grey Spring Day

Three Orchids

These are my three orchids (all commercial Phalaenopsis hybrids) which I wanted to get as a group. This was best done after they’d been watered (a weekly soak) so they’re in the shower. The lighting is a mix of natural (grey, evening) daylight and the bathroom “white” fluorescent. Not the best of pictures, but at least something more cheerful than the greyness outside.

photography

Buggered Britain 7

Another in my occasional series documenting some of the underbelly of Britain. Britain which we wouldn’t like visitors to see and which we wish wasn’t there. The trash, abused, decaying, destitute and otherwise buggered parts of our environment. Those parts which symbolise the current economic malaise; parts which, were the country flourishing, wouldn’t be there, would be better cared for, or made less inconvenient.

Buggered Britain 7

These two closed and uncared for shops are at Greenford Broadway, although in fairness the pet shop has moved to better placed premises 100 yards round the corner.

photography

Buggered Britain 6

Another in my occasional series documenting some of the underbelly of Britain. Britain which we wouldn’t like visitors to see and which we wish wasn’t there. The trash, abused, decaying, destitute and otherwise buggered parts of our environment. Those parts which symbolise the current economic malaise; parts which, were the country flourishing, wouldn’t be there, would be better cared for, or made less inconvenient.

Buggered Britain 6

This decrepit gateway is on the North Circular (A406) just south of the Hanger Lane Gyratory. Such a shame as it could look so imposing.

photography

Yet More Orchid Porn

This is the original orchid I had which has now been in bloom for four weeks. Currently there are 8 flowers open (each getting on for 10cm wide!) and at least another 6 to come. It is absolutely magnificent.

Orchid Again

See here for my first picture taken on 25 March.