England
By the water: the River Severn at Sharpness, Gloucestershire
I live too far from the sea. I yearn for the beach, the salty air, the sound of the waves and the feeling of being by the water. I go when I can but it's not as often as I'd like. Thankfully, though, I'm not all that far from some big expanses of water. In … Continue reading By the water: the River Severn at Sharpness, Gloucestershire
Wordless Wednesday #7: Roman coin hoard, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, Devon
Wordless Wednesday #6: paw prints and waves, St Ives, Cornwall
On foot: the need to walk
There are days when I have to walk, like something has welled up from deep inside my subconscious and all I can do about it is to walk. I had a day like that today. I've been feeling it building, a foggy-headed lack of focus hanging over me in recent days, punctuated here and there … Continue reading On foot: the need to walk
In the land of the Prince Bishops: the city of Durham, England
The city of Durham is one of my favourite places. The medieval castle and cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site standing high up on a wooded peninsula above a bend in the River Wear, and the steep, winding streets below form an historic centre the equal of anywhere in Europe. Bill Bryson, in his Notes … Continue reading In the land of the Prince Bishops: the city of Durham, England
Wordless Wednesday #3: West African totems, Eden Project, Bodelva, Cornwall
More information: Eden project; the West African totems
Public art and retelling a city story: St Kyneburgh’s Well, Southgate Street, Gloucester
Just above the docks of Gloucester at the end of Southgate Street where one of the old Roman gates into the city once stood, there's now an open space known as Kimbrose Triangle. Within this space is a large two-part installation in steel by the artist Tom Price, one a hollow tower standing to about … Continue reading Public art and retelling a city story: St Kyneburgh’s Well, Southgate Street, Gloucester
Wordless Wednesday #2: sunset and silhouettes, Woodchester Park, Stroud
Here be monsters: The Museum of Natural History, Oxford
We had a family day out to Oxford last week, to see the Ashmolean Museum's Spellbound exhibition – an evocative, surprising and dark exploration of folk magic and ritual from medieval to modern times – and to go to the Museum of Natural History where a new display has been installed. Photography wasn't allowed at … Continue reading Here be monsters: The Museum of Natural History, Oxford
