I learnt that this is a Leonberger! ...and this was an intriguing sculpture by a lake in a Midlands wildlife sanctuary (so not quite where you'd expect to see an elephant). The plant is cow parsley, and the insect's a soldier beetle... ...these are sprouting by the (partially collapsed) garden fence... ...and there's all sorts … Continue reading June’s top 10

It was 17°C with 58km/h gusts at 10.20am when the car moved, I had my wrist support on and I was trying to write while on the least bumpy bits of these country roads – one of which had a bloke on a motorbike wearing a pair of jogging bottoms that had mostly fallen off … Continue reading Adventures at Coombe Abbey

I discovered this is a yeast cake (also known as Bundt cake) - with a long history... These got me reading about hoverflies... ...and this bee was demonstrating its hovering skills for the camera. A nice mummy swan giving her cygnets a tour of Coombe Pool. This one was way too big for a tree … Continue reading The top 10 photos of May

We got off at the Paris Gare du Nord (and I discovered the battery had fallen out of my camera – so I started using my phone)... ...there was a long wiggly queue for taxis opposite a small gathering of people (a few of whom had brass instruments), we queued – while a trumpet was … Continue reading The next bit: Paris to Strasbourg

I forgot when I re-awoke (with a stiff back) in Kings Cross hotel , I was whacked on the head with a pair of socks, managed to get up, I forgot what else occurred before the hotel was left at 5.53am: smells weren’t very nice, a massive pile of bin bags was outside McDonald’s, a … Continue reading From Kings Cross to Paris…

It was 24°C at 12.20pm when the house was left (I'd had to get a grip and grab my bag) : the care home on a nearby road had patriotic bunting round its sign, the park had undergone a lot of violent grass cutting, the knobblyness of the trees on another road caused me to … Continue reading Setting off to Strasbourg

Shakespeare's ghost (a man covered in white paint) strolling Stratfords streets The first thing harvested from the garden this year A bee enjoying the finally flowering forget-me-nots A sophisticated badger in a top hat (I think he's made of bronze) An attempt being made to hug a really really really big tree An odd find … Continue reading The top 10 photos of April