A Walk Round Yarmouth

At the beginning of the month we had a week on the Isle of Wight. With hindsight and considering what it has been like since, the weather was very good. Indeed we had two near perfect days. On one of these we had a lovely walk round Yarmouth, one of my favourite places on the Island.

We headed off past the old station that has recently been reimagined as a cafe

through Rofford Marsh

and down to the sea where we saw a couple of cormorants fishing together, and a man walking his dogs along the shore at what was one of the lowest tides of the year (usually no beach visible here)

Back through the town, the cottage gardens were looking pretty,

then on to the pier, reputedly the longest wooden pier int he UK.

From the pier we spotted children taking advantage of the low tide and glorious evening to go crabbing

All this in a gentle stroll lasting around an hour - we are blessed!

Garden Colour

“To-day I think
Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield,
And bracken, and wild carrot’s seed,
And the square mustard field;

Odours that rise
When the spade wounds the root of tree,
Rose, currant, raspberry, or goutweed,
Rhubarb or celery;

The smoke’s smell, too,
Flowing from where a bonfire burns
The dead, the waste, the dangerous,
And all to sweetness turns.

It is enough
To smell, to crumble the dark earth,
While the robin sings over again
Sad songs of Autumn mirth.”

— Edward Thomas

Whilst autumn has arrived around here, its not really at full stretch in the countryside yet. The native trees are still to reveal themselves in their full glory and its early to be crunching leaves underfoot. In the garden, however, things are a bit different.

There are browns and golds, seed heads and sedums

pots hanging on by the skin of their teeth.

The colours are glorious, there are rich reds

and pinks

and things that shine

Whether naturally or with the intervention of man. Almost certainly our last autumn here I will savour every moment.

Postcards from Berlin 3 - from Stadt to Platz

On our way back from Potsdam and Sansouci we had to change from the Schnell Bahn to the U Bahn at Potsdamer Platz. This is not, as you might be forgiven for thinking, in Potsdam but in the centre of Berlin. Heavily bombed in the war, Potsdamer Platz was then bisected by the Berlin Wall although the only reminder of this now is a discrete sign on the ground.

When the wall came down a huge empty space was left in the centre of the city and this was quickly snapped up by firms such as Sony, DaimlerChrysler and A&T. Many of the buildings are considered iconic especially the Sony Centre. As we emerged into the platz on a fine March evening the light was ideal for photographing these buildings and getting a second wind we rushed round with the camera.

Click on the picture below ( multiple times) to view the gallery

What I love most about these pictures is the light and the reflections - so happy we arrived there at just the right time