Another Place

On Monday we visited Anthony Gormely's installation 'Another Place' on Crosby Beach just outside Liverpool. It consists of 100 cast-iron, life-size figures spread out along three kilometres of the foreshore, stretching almost one kilometre out to sea.

When we arrived the tide was on its way in and the weather was pretty murky with outbreak sof squally rain, but somehow the scene didn't call for bright sunshine.

The figures - each one weighing 650 kilos - are made from casts of the artist's own body standing on the beach, all of them looking out to sea, 'staring at the horizon in silent expectation'. The figures are really spaced out and some were already underwater when we visited. We walked to a couple of the nearer ones which were textured with rust, sand and barnacles.

According to Antony Gormley, as quoted on Visit Liverpool , 'Another Place harnesses the ebb and flow of the tide to explore man's relationship with nature. He explains: The seaside is a good place to do this. Here time is tested by tide, architecture by the elements and the prevalence of sky seems to question the earth's substance. In this work human life is tested against planetary time. This sculpture exposes to light and time the nakedness of a particular and peculiar body. It is no hero, no ideal, just the industrially reproduced body of a middle-aged man trying to remain standing and trying to breathe, facing a horizon busy with ships moving materials and manufactured things around the planet.'

As we watched and waited the tide rolled in and more figures began to be underwater, it gave a slightly erie feeling. I guess the visit would have been entirely different if it had been a bright summers day with the beach crowded with people. As it was, it seemed to represent the human condition, how we are buffeted by the time and tide of life, marked by its vicissitudes but gaining a strange beauty as we age.

“Happiness, not in another place but this place...not for another hour, but this hour.”

— Walt Whitman

Class Outing

On Sunday my photography class had a field trip. We headed out to the coast at a place called Calshot which is right next to the Fawley oil refinery and also boasts an activities centre run by the local council.

In addition to these delights there are ships, wildlife, marshes, beach huts, and a host of other treasures. Our brief was Go Explore!

I started with the wildlife and was charmed to find this egret pottering about the base of the old castle before taking off to sit on the top.

There were also lots of Oyster Catchers enjoying the low tide

and it's a long time since I saw so many shells on a beach

As well as these natural wonders there was man-made detritus on the shore too, such as old tyres.

But I was getting chilly, maybe it was time to explore inside. Calshot was an airfield from 1913 to the 1960s and the activity centre is housed in the old aircraft hangers

The main attraction indoors from a photography point of view was the velodrome

I've never been inside a velodrome before. It was impressive! I still can't work out how they mange to stick to the walls

It also gave me a chance to practice panning

Back outside again I focused on the more industrial landscape

boats and chimneys

before ending up with a visit to the beach huts

verdict - cold but fun!

Of Sea and Ships

“Darwin may have been quite correct in his theory that man descended from the apes of the forest, but surely woman rose from the frothy sea, as resplendent as Aphrodite on her scalloped chariot”

— Margot Datz

We were at the Isle of Wight this weekend, still engaged in doing stuff for the move, switching furniture around between houses etc. Still I found time to take a few pictures in between all of the above.

We had to visit Newport to go to the DIY store and took a few moments to walk round the harbour to admire the birds

and the boats

I have recently joined some friends on a new Facebook group 'the Monochrome Explorers' so have been experimenting with all things back and white. This is one of my favourites

I like these ones of birds too, particularly the light patterns on the water

But when all's said and done my first love is colour - I've taken a picture of this particular hull before but I still love the rich colours and textures and couldn't resist trying again

Back home there was just time for a quick trip down to the beach before sunset. It was cold but worth it to see the kite surfer swooping and jumping

and the sunset reflecting on the beach cabin

All in all it was a good day for connecting with beauty

If its spring again, birds sing again ..........

I suddenly got this tune from my childhood into my head - it's Tulips from Amsterdam sung, if I recall correctly, by Max Bygraves ( just checked it was Max Bygraves). And it led me to reflect on what spring means to me. I think it's the flowers first and foremost, to begin with the aconites and snowdrops, followed by the daffodils and all the flowering trees that have burst on to the scene in the last week.

Even the wild flowers have got going

The second big thing that heralds spring for us is the opening of our tiny place on the Isle of Wight. The first trip of the season is always exciting, checking if there have been any cliff falls and if our favourite shops (especially the fishmonger) are still there. The cliff falls were fairly minor (given the weather we've had) although they were rebuilding some of the beach huts that had been damaged by the storms.

After doing all the chores we went for a drive round - first stop Freshwater Bay where there was a stiff breeze with spray catching the sun over the sea wall

and there was a family having fun laughing at grandpa who was jumping in and out of the waves in his dhoti

Next it was off to Totland where we noticed that this sky above the land was much bluer than the sky above the sea, which was still a bit misty

and there was a fabulous view of the evening sun on the old lifeboat house with the gulls wheeling around it

It was good to be back and breathe in the spring sea air! And just in case you are way too young to have heard this

At the Beach - Then and Now!

As I reflect back on the sparkling moments of the last week or so, its the unexpected that makes me catch my breath and say wow! A couple of moments this week that stand out. One was noticing that the garden was full of butterflies in a way it hasn't been for years (presumably because of the awful summers we have been having) . The second was the realisation again of how much I love the freedom of being by the sea in warm weather, breathing that wonderful air and walking along the beach with my camera.

I love the beach at any time of year but in the school holidays it becomes a fun filled bustling kind of place with the cafes busy and the children in and out of the water and crabbing in the rock pools. It was a very special time for us and our son when he was young and I love seeing other families enjoying the beach.

My discovery this week is that you can scan in very old, small, poor quality photographs run them through Lightroom and end up with something half decent. This was very good news as I am planning to start a new blog documenting my childhood on the Isle of Wight in the nineteen fifties and I want to include some family history in this. To wet your appetite, here are some of my father's family having fun on the beach in the early twenties - I love the top two of my dad and granddad having fun and am amazed by the clothes they consider suitable for beachwear in the bottom one! I think their beach experience may have been a little less comfortable than ours.

We think these photos may have been taken in great Yarmouth, there is a train station in the background almost on the beach - anyone recognise it?

I'd love to hear about your sparking moments of the week so please add a comment - see you soon!

Vive La France!

Last weekend we popped over to France. It was actually a 'booze cruise' in that the primary objective (excuse) for going was to buy wine and beer for our son's 21st birthday party next month. Although, as my husband pointed out, it would have been a lot cheaper to save the money we spent on the hotels and meals and buy the booze in our local Tesco.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly we can get to France via the tunnel. We left home at 7.15 and we were in the supermarket in Calais buying wine at 12.15 (French time + 1 hour)

Wine bought, we headed along the coast to Boulogne where we were spending our first night. As we headed off to walk along the beach the first thing that struck me was the amount of blue everywhere.

These balls were lining the road in front of our hotel down to the aquarium and the beach. Once on the beach I loved the colourful lines of sand yachts bearing testament to the exposure of the coast line!

After a very windy stroll along the prom, we headed into town to have a look at the shops, passing the fish market which still had a few stalls open.

Reaching the town centre my eye was caught by this antique shop which proved to be a veritable treasure trove of photographic opportunities.

I even ended up buying one of these gorgeous art deco soda syphons

The next morning we visited the Maison de Beuriere a 19th Century fisherman's house which has been furnished in the period and came with a very helpful guide who recommended that we visited the fishermen's memorial on the cliffs above the town. We were unable to enter the chapel but were very moved by the memorial stones which describe the sailors as lost often giving the name of the boat and year rather than the date.

The museum guide had also told us that the fishermen in a neighbouring village were so poor they couldn't afford any kind of home so they built houses using boat hulls for roofs. There is apparently one of the original houses left, but we couldn't find it and had to settle for a picture of the ones they had built in the holiday park!

After a quick lunch it was off to our next destination the Parc du Marquenterre in the Somme estuary. This is a bird sanctuary that we have visited on several occasions but only in the autumn so it was interesting to see what birds were there in the summer. As it turned out the highlights were probably the storks,

some of whom were nesting, and the avocets a beautiful bird I hadn't seen before.

Then off to our hotel in St Valerie sur Somme - I have been trying to book a room in this wonderful gothic pile for years but it's always been full - this year success at last!

Great details and stunning views too! Although sadly our room overlooked the car park.

The next morning it was off to the market to buy some goodies to take home.

If you haven't tried one of these little flat peaches you haven't (if you are a peach lover) lived! Sadly the only place I've seen them in the UK so far is Borough Market which is not very local to us. I also loved the green of the samphire and the attractively displayed waffles

After a traditional lunch in the market brasserie it was time to head back across the channel. But first there was just time to pay a flying visit to the medieval city.

Where we discovered this charming square, full of ancient houses and flowers.

Au revoir till next time!

A Photo Walk in Steephill Cove

As usual we spent the holiday weekend on the Isle of Wight and taking advantage of the long weekend we decided to go over to Ventnor, with the aim of visiting Steephill Cove, a charming spot that can only be reached on foot via the coastal path or by boat. We had only been there once before out of season and were keen to see it in its summer glory.

As we rounded the bend we saw the cove was a hive of activity with kids digging on the beach, in the sea, and generally having a good time.

For grown ups there is the additional bonus of the Wheeler family’s foodie offerings in their restaurant the ‘Boat House’ and the ‘Crab Shack’. We hadn't booked for the Boat House but managed to get a seat at the Crab shack where we enjoyed delicious crab pasties which are the shack speciality, washed down with a glass of cold Muscadet.

Apparently the Wheeler family have been longshoremen at Steephill for 500 years. Nowadays they sell their fresh seafood, look after the beach and hire out deck chairs.

The cove itself was colonized as a resort in Victorian times and boasts a few pretty cottages together with sometimes dilapidated, but ultimately picturesque shacks and huts. Some of these have been turned into attractive holiday accommodation.

It is hard to describe the ambience of the cove which is an attractive jumble of flowers shacks, lobsterpots and cottages.

Don’t miss it if you take a trip to the Isle of Wight.