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 ...
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 ...
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.
[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 ...
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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