images from the web

he's the one ...

I went to see Robbie Williams, er Lee Pashley last night!



Sssh ... so he's not the real one, but for £15 he's great value.



Robbie Williams, the sort of lad you could take home to meet your mum?


image by Mario Testino at the National Portrait Gallery

Er, perhaps not!

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photos - BBC Iplayer website

little penguins ...

Have you been watching Penguin Island, a series on BBC One following a breeding pair of little (fairy) penguins Bluey and Sheila, and their two offspring?

They all live on Phillip Island, off the south coast of Australia.

I have been sat glued watching, 'cos at the beginning of this year, on our road trip between Sydney and Adelaide, we had the once in a lifetime opportunity to see these little penguins for real, staying within walking distance of their colony.

At the time, really not wanting to leave them behind, it is so lovely to see them again.



These little darlings, you can't help but love em!

There really is something about this little bird's character that makes me grin from ear to ear, every time I see one.

Well that's another one ticked off those 1001 things I must do before I die!

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'Choosing' - a painting of Ellen Terry by George Frederic Watts circa 1864.


my photos

Smallhythe Place ...

If you are ever down Kent way, you must visit Smallhythe Place.

Owned by the National Trust, the property was the once home of Victorian actress Ellen Terry, between the years of 1899 and 1928.

The house itself is early 16th century.



Ellen Terry along with her husband Henry Irving were the golden couple of the stage towards the end of the 19th century.

The story goes, they were driving in Kent when they noticed an old farmhouse, which Ellen announced would be the place where she would like to live and die.

No wonder. The building is strikingly beautiful.



Step through the front door of the house into a box of delights for Thespians, antique and art lovers alike.

With very steep stairs and extremely creaky floorboards, you can see many of her costumes and possessions on display, including an evocative death mask.

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After her mother's death, Ellen's daughter Edy converted the barn into a theatre.

The necessary funds were raised by suggesting that supporters subscribe a pound for a chair to commemorate themselves or a friend.

You can see these chairs all lined up inside the theatre, where talks and theatrical events are staged.

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The cottage grounds include her rose garden, orchard and a nuttery.

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The critic E V Lucas, after a visit to Smallhythe Place, wrote that the house was very like Ellen Terry -

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There was something of wildness in her nature, something wilful and untamed, something almost fey, which assorts well with this brave old house, with these rich beams, these windows giving on to the green valley, this isolation among fields. I thought, when I was there the other day in spring, that it was very like her; like her in its grace, like her in its independence and Englishness, like her in the sunshine that irradiated it, and in the gaiety of its yellow wallflowers.

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The rather beautiful image evoked in these words was lost just for a moment, when this Chinook helicopter thundered overhead!

With the parking being rather limited down by the bridge, we parked up a few hundred yards away in the grounds of St John the Baptist Church.

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my photos

a short break ...

We've just got back from spending a few days in Kent, staying in an annexe of an old barn in Bethersden.

On the way down we stopped in Battle for a coffee and a light snack for breakfast.

The Annual Battle Scarecrow Festival was in full swing. There was one every which way you turned.




I would have loved more time to walk around the village, photographing and documenting each scarecrow I could find.

In the daytime, not at dusk!



As we were staying near to the town of Tenterden we stopped one afternoon for a quick mooch around.



There's some lovely shops.

You can see reflections of the town in the shopfront windows.



I've more photos of other perfick places we visited, so feel free to pop back soon!

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my photos

want to go to the seaside ...

Jellied eels, crabsticks, lobsters and whelks ...



... and a sandy beach.



Shingle shoreline ...

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... and a Victorian pier.

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Fishing ...

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... and seafront residences.

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A wooden jetty on wheels ...

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and chalk downland.

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Floral carpet gardens ...

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... and blue sky.

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That's Eastbourne!

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my photos

one night in Bladon, and a walk through lovely Lechlade ...

The photo above was taken in the village of Bladon, being our first nights stop on the break away we took over the weekend.

We had a room up top, with some view!

The place where we stayed was not only a guesthouse, but a teashop too. Although we couldn't stay long enough to get to sample a cream tea, the full English breakfast was good ... or get to visit the final burial place of Sir Winston Churchill at the local church, sigh.

We did have other things on our mind, like getting off to the racetrack at Silverstone.

On the other two nights we stayed at the Witney Four Pillars, a very comfortable hotel with a great brasserie, which had a breakfast buffet style and a quality dinner menu.

It's on the edge of the village of Ducklington. Isn't that just the best placename!



On our way home we took a detour slightly off track, stopping at Lechlade.

Would you believe miles away from home, J bumped into someone he knows from fishing at the local Horseshoe Lake. There really is only so much nodding and smiling one can do, so I made a polite excuse and walked on ahead to take some photos.

Arkwright's DIY is quaint, especially with that old bicycle parked outside. Gr-Granville!



A pretty pastel exterior to the village Florist shop.

A not such pretty exterior to the Gent's Hairdressers. Two words come to mind, Shabby Chic!

Hat's off to the village local!

It wouldn't take much arm-twisting for me to up sticks here!

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I so love these old Cotswold stone buildings, traditional to this area of the country.

What a surprise, no queue outside the Post Office, and on a Monday morning too!

Last stop, the Lechlade Antiques Arcade.

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I could've quite easily spent hours poking around the units, but with J in tow and him not being remotely interested in bric-a-brac, I was going round like a scalded cat.

I was rather hoping to say hello to Lucy Bloom, as she sells from here.



I didn't find Lucy, but I think I may have found her unit?

Whoever it belonged to, the shelves were packed with lots of bits 'n pieces to look over, and this lovely dark blue jelly mould caught my eye.

I had to have it knowing it would go really nicely alongside my vintage Cornishware ...

and so it does!

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