if you are ever on Jersey and want a crab sandwich or a cream tea, perhaps as a stop-off on a coastal walk, the take a look in at The Hungry Man at Rozel, St Martins and you wont be disappointed. Established in 1947 it must be doing something right though hasn't for some reason expanded the franchise which is why its so charming. Moving over to the other end of the island there are several other eateries which overlook St Ouen's Bay such as Big Verns and El Tico where this martello tower is always in view
One of the most striking aspects of that bit of country in the hills inland from those glamorous places like Saint Tropez and St Raphael is the complete lack of animals and simplicity of activity in the countryside. Every hectare that can be scraped from the rocky soils is devoted to wine production and it makes for an interesting if not different atmosphere as the rest of the land stands with trees or rough permanent grassland full of wild flowers course herbage and butterflies hardly touched by human endeavour. Olive trees stand with the vines and form a secondary crop ...
For my friend Jeremy the middle Wednesday of a mid-August week away is not complete without a serious boules competition played without compromise by anyone he can get grab. Heats were played all day and after dinner under flood lights and with full commentary the finalist were crowned to cheers from the assemblage and a potted hydrangeas for the winner. What fun.
Whilst Cornwall in the summer leaves a strong mark in our itineraries there is something just a bit more reliable and romantic about crossing the channel and turning right for a few miles at St Malo. The coast is more interesting, with a lack of bungalows and caravan parks, the food more succulent and less commercial, and this adds to the general relaxation and enjoyment of a more reliable time on holiday.The children were in bliss and occasionally sat and painted revealing colourful expressions of a time that we all agreed was just a little better than Cornwall. and the sunsets were memorable but that ...
On the emerald coast of Brittany going west from St Malo I met Jack in a garden of a house in which I was passing a few days. Often in the morning in between activities with the other other children Jack took to his bike and hurtled around the long dry paths bathed in sunlight and darting in and out of the shadows, quite content, alone and all at great speed - everything a free and easy ten year old would want. Then without warning he stopped and looked at me scribbling on my pad. With the bike thrown down in ...
Walking at 6000 feet above sea level in the Berber community of the High Atlas doesn't really feel like Africa especially as we pass up the verdant valleys full of apricot and cherry blossom with walnut trees dominating our path eking out the thin soils and waiting to come into leaf later than everything else. A cash crop of nuts for the mules to carry many miles down to markets, whilst the families survive on tiny patches of barley and broad beans harvested for home consumption. We picnicked by rivers and under orange trees. The homes are clustered on the ...
[caption id="attachment_1213" align="alignnone" width="300"] sun and clouds anticipate the storm[/caption] Unusual events in nature's calendar have a habit of rectifying themselves and we had a profound example last week in the Alps above Annecy where we were privileged to hole up for Christmas last week. The bright low winter sun over the lowland hills all grassy and green, dotted with chalets and farms making Roblochon and great rounds of Beaufort out of the creamy milk of the cows snugly munching in their rich smelling barns gave for an idyllic scene of late autumn hill life. It all made for good walking, almost spring-like with babbling ...
I have had a nice invitation to join several others in an 'Art at Home' collection of paintings,drawings,sculptors, ceramics and pottery set in her home setting at Threa Compton Vallence Dorchester DT2 9ER by Sarah Sclater. Do come along between 10am on Friday 3rd October and 6pm Monday 6th October 2014. I will be around most of Friday and for the evening drinks until 9pm and Saturday afternoon and evening. Refreshments all day. All pictures framed. I have brought together a collection of work mainly local to the Cornish Devon and Dorset Coast with some further afield [caption id="attachment_1187" align="alignnone" width="300"] picnic at ...
The Lot valley was a little cooler than parts of our recent English summer and this gave for plenty of activity at Fazende one of my favourite spots, and that of many of our friends, and so the washing needed encapsulating as it became a feature as each bed was reoccupied by the tumble of guests. My family came together for a joint paint for to provide an amalgamated view of the house with a bicycle to mark the many rides we managed to get the bakery every morning and I sat within the local herd munching and moving about the walnut ...
Very very rarely an English summers evening in the countryside there are burnt grasses, shimmering light across the fields, not fading very fast and that waft of intoxicating warmness, utterly dewless, somewhat earthy and full of the day gone by such that it does transport one to more southern climes more appropriate to the Mediterranean - rather than east devon. But there we had it as we sat high above the Axe Valley looking south to where the tributary Coly wonders towards the coast and tucked up behind Janey's vineyard - so cleverly set sunward and taking up much time and pleasure when the London ...
Using a variety of media and styles the work responds to mood and geography but is more than often an observation of simple scenes in everyday life and on the travels across Europe.
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