Off from the everyday trudge and into a few hours of gaming is such a rich thing in a fine English Summer. The openness of the Dorset greenery for school cricket contrasts with the utter pinnacle of contest arenas again almost all green at Centre Court and many thanks to friend Paddy who produced some excellent tickets so I could quietly work away. And that very fine west country theatre where the urban vernacular provides a superb backdrop at Somerset County Ground. A quiet lunch in the members with my friend Bruce followed by a quick sketch of the 8th wicket stand (of ...
Eight men bold into the June mist we scurried up Pen y Fan with wetness in the air, our necks and boots but being summer and Wales all soon cleared as we strode with views along to Corn Du and Fan y Big with their precipitous edges and grassy southern slopes: eventually back to the tea and guinness in the village below. At Llanthony Priory the next day we took to the ridge between our England and the Welsh cousins revealing a fantastic patchwork of grassland field patterns and little copses in the lowlands below: most accentuated in the view ...
8am on Brae Hill on the 26th May had a surreal atmosphere as the crystal clear air and bright low sunlight bathed the deep blue river water, the whitened drying sand on the falling spring tide against the green bluffs of farmland in such a perfect light. The clean colour along this brilliant estuary reaches out to the hard outlines of the headlands and the horizon already dotted with fishing boats. The air is fresh not yet of the summer balmy warmness and the people are few. Most have dogs and wellies whilst some have water bottles and lycra. I had a dog and ...
Police Dog Hogan filled the Lyme Regis Marina Theatre with full noise from their eight instruments - energy bluegrass with folk and subject matter close to the west country and other everyday observation such as mustard wine war and love. Go see.
Staying with friends close to the sea on the north Cornish Coast at this time of year is a treat as apart from the delightful company one can move about the flower strewn lanes with ease and walk almost alone appreciating the strong contrasts in colour between the azure sea the very yellow clean sand the sky and the so green uncut grasses flopping the edges of the paths and pushing up on the horizon and out of the back of our garden the cypress trees framed the view nicely. A little further up the west country coast noisy things were ...
[caption id="attachment_1041" align="alignnone" width="293"] La Almuna[/caption] Late April in Andalucía couldn't be better with warm days and a breeze and the odd downpour necessary to bring on the abundance of flowers shrubs and trees that make up this rich landscape. It was 25 degrees plus last week and not a cloud in the sky making it less easy to make pace in the hills but the quiet tapas bars of the villages provided refreshment and the natural fuentes along our routes allowed cool clear revival without difficulty. Staying with Diana Paget at La Alumna is quite exquisite if you don't want super ...
Having been involved in a very minor way at Badminton for over twenty five years I have seen lots of colour in this spectacular of cross country riding events. The Park will look its very best as this Spring gets into gear will the many trees bursting their leaves at differing rates giving a real feeling of the movement of nature as the winter recedes so rapidly and sporting and outdoor activities are on us. This a sketch from last year fence 22 and maybe see you there on the 10th May.
So the rumour went out that Bass were running well at Eype or was it Seatown ? ............. never mind we went for it and tried our luck at Eype and a few others were there enjoying the sunshine - at least the boys let various forms of bait dance about in the water for well over an hour on the rising tide. We even procured a mackerel en route from our fishmonger and made nice shiny lures but guess what - not a bite...that's fishing. The sandwiches were nice- thanks mum! A quiet stream with the evening fly beckons as the waters warm and ...
[caption id="attachment_1025" align="alignnone" width="300"] StoneBarrow Hill from coast path[/caption] Several times in that dreadful rainy season we attempted to walk the coast just along from Golden Cap. Not taking to the beach or the unstable cliffs we made pretty short measure of anything other than a cup of coffee in the Watchhouse which is well worth a detour if close to West Bay. So it was great to be able to actually sit above the coastline on a sunny day last week end. Looking north to Stonebarrow Hill is a lovely patchwork of nicely farmed land with a little help from ...
Headed south under sail in the seas off the African coast just at the point northern Europe was suffering extreme weather last week seemed a sensible way to take a break whilst enjoying some warmness making to the islands of winter sun – the Canaries. But not a bit of it – strong blows of 30 knots and more and tall seas of 5 metres took hold of our not so little vessel as we slid down the fronts the long swell at record speeds with a degree control interjected by some adrenaline moments at all times of day and night from dolphins to ...
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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