Chasing Golden Light

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A few weeks ago we went back to Epping Forest, before the leaves all disappeared, to soak up the seasonal colours and recharge our batteries. We’d been away far too long. It was the day we put the clocks back an hour, when darkness suddenly comes too soon. It was a beautiful autumn day but it felt like the sunlight was rationed and we hurried to catch the last of it. Continue reading “Chasing Golden Light”

Frames of reference

Mad Dogs & Englishmen

The Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Lockn’ Festival in Arrington, Virginia two months ago performing a tribute to Joe Cocker, featuring songs from his classic live album Mad Dogs & Englishmen, with a little help from their friends, original Mad Dogs: Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge and Claudia Lennear.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band are appearing tonight at the O2. For a reminder of their last visit to London see our earlier post – Mavis, Susan & Derek.

Frames of reference

Chasing Rainbows And Missing Islands In West Ireland

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Surprisingly, for all the Irish blood coursing through my veins I have never visited before, so this year I set out with my hardy friend Tom, an Irishman himself, to put that right. Our ten days split into two big chunks: Kerry, Dingle and the Skelligs and then Connemara. Continue reading “Chasing Rainbows And Missing Islands In West Ireland”

Frames of reference

The Weekend

I’ve been listening to Nashville Obsolete, the new album by Dave Rawlings Machine. It begins with The Weekend and it’s accompanying video documents a weekend roadtrip by Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch from Nashville to California. It got me looking around for more. Continue reading “The Weekend”

Frames of reference

Alien Spacecraft Strike Terror Into The Hearts Of Art-Loving Londoners!

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As we learned from the books of our childhood, alien fleets of spacecraft always invade London by flying up the Thames. The aliens know from their knowledge of British popular culture that the public links the threat of enemy action with the image of St Paul’s standing firm and reassuring against the invaders. And strange spaceships were always depicted as smoothly shaped craft, devoid of the oddities and quirks of our own aircraft or rockets. Concorde was the only one we ever built which could be said to have an alien sheen. Continue reading “Alien Spacecraft Strike Terror Into The Hearts Of Art-Loving Londoners!”

Frames of reference

Apple Day

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The tradition of Apple Day began on 21 October 1990 when the charity Common Ground took over the Piazza at Covent Garden in London with a demonstration to celebrate the cultural importance of the apple, as an enduring symbol of diversity and local distinctiveness. It coincided with an exhibition of specially commissioned photographs of West Country Orchards by James Ravilious. Over the last 25 years Apple Day has become a popular festival, celebrated across the country in schools and museums, village halls and the Houses of Parliament. Continue reading “Apple Day”

Frames of reference

Another Look At Lucca

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Lucca was our nearest and most favourite city this summer. We visited many other places but often ended up here and we got to know it better each time. This was my first photo in Lucca, in Piazza Anfiteatro – a ramshackle circuit of medieval buildings, it incorporates elements of the Roman amphitheatre that once stood here – and there’s always another photographer in the middle. Continue reading “Another Look At Lucca”

Frames of reference