January2022 - Present day
Photo Blog
My Photo Blog and Diary page
Various photo happenings and a few thoughts along the way.
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NEW YEAR 2023
The year 2022 has now ended; the Christmas Angel, in the Village shop has now been packed away - a magnificent display - and many thanks to the ladies of the Village for all their time and effort in creating it.
2023 has now arrived but where will it take us? The World is in a bit of a mess at the moment, with conflicts, pandemics and disputes of one sort or another on virtually every continent on Earth. Hopefully, common sense and peace will eventually prevail, but I am not optimistic it will be in the short term.
But here’s hoping. A Happy New Year to all.
WINTER 2022
After the Storm
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OCTOBER 2022
Click on photo to to enlarge.
With the current chaotic times that exist all around the World, from politics to pandemics, and the threat of growing conflict in many regions, it is very hard to imagine a return to the more stable times of three or four years ago. It was therefore very pleasing to take a photo of villagers at a coffee morning event, in the Village Hall, and to hope that this might represent some semblance of a return to more normal times in the not too far-distant future. Here’s hoping!
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The Canadian Fall colours in Gatineau, Quebec Province. Taken a few years back, when visiting the Family.
LATE SUMMER / EARLY AUTUMN 2022
The second half of the summer and the early autumn have seen some very momentous times in our history: namely the passing of the Elizabethan Period. I remember being sent home early from school on the death of King George, in 1952, and the Coronation in 1953 of Queen Elizabeth II. King Charles III is the third monarch in my lifetime, and you have to be quite old to say that!
This year also saw. in August, the return of Glanton Show, very much the rural annual event in the Village. The last time it was held was 2018, with floods and lockdowns in the years between preventing a return until this year. The day was helped by exceptional weather and the local enthusiasm in the form of eye-catching displays and events. Unfortunately, my health prevented me from providing full photographic coverage of the day.
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EARLY SUMMER 2022
This summer, the Village clock in the United Reform Church was equipped with automatic wind motors to save the weekly task of manual clock winding. The equipment includes the ability to check and adjust the time every hour so as to maintain precision radio controlled time keeping. It was interesting to note that the installers of the new equipment were the same company that installed the original clock in 1897, over a century ago.
Spring has now given way to early summer. Covid lockdowns
are hopefully now history, but, the country has now been taken over by the No.10
Boris Birthday party bash. Despite all the problems in the World, the media
have promoted the No.10 party issue to the top of the news.
There has been some light and welcome relief from all the
political goings-on in the form of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Beacons were
lit all over the Country on June 2nd and the long holiday weekend
taken up with street parties up and down the land and massive spectacular
parades in London.
Above:The Cheviot Hills from Thrunton Woods, Northumberland.
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SPRING 2022
Just when it appears that Spring is firmly established and the bulbs are flowering in a climate dominated by a stable anti-cyclone - then, on the first day of April, winter returns, with a cold Arctic blast and new growth goes on hold.
Although Covid regulations have all come to an end, in England anyway; the disease has not gone away and infections are currently increasing. The severity of those infections however is much lower and we are now “living with Covid”.
The feared crisis in Eastern Europe has come to a head and the Ukraine is now embroiled in a very messy war with Russia. Where it will all end, nobody knows.
So-called sterilised seed compost can often prove quite interesting. A sowing of tomato seeds produced not only seedling tomatoes, but also a very interesting crop of tiny Fairies Bonnet fungi!
Photos above and to left: Iphone XR: photo below Lumix LX100.
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JANUARY 2022
We are now into the New Year and the third week of January.
It appears now that Covid is beginning to wane and there is a glimmer of hope
for a more normal world returning; but whether it will ever be the same again
remains to be seen; I personally doubt it. The political climate in the UK has
become chaotic and the storm clouds of war are also beginning to gather over
Eastern Europe and the Middle and Far East and I think tumultuous times lie
ahead.
So far, the month of January has been quite pleasant;
anticyclones have dominated, leading to cool bright days, with little wind and
rain, or snow. Trips into the surrounding countryside are dominated by the damage
resulting from Storm Arwen last November. There is a lot of work to be done
with many acres of damaged trees and forestry plantations. As a retired
forester, it is sad to see the level of destruction, especially to mature
broadleaf trees such as Oak and Ash, which will take many years to grow back.
Photos: Top, January afternoon above Beanley,
Northumberland. Camera, Lumix LX100.
Left: Windblown Oak and a sturdy coniferous survivor. Camera,
Lumix LX100.
Below: Devastation amongst a Scots Pine plantation at Beanley.
Camera, Nikon D800. 50mm f1.7 prime lens.
