Strawberry Fields Forever - a Tale of Central Park

“Let me take you down
’Cause I’m going to Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry Fields forever”

— John Lennon

Just back from a great trip to New York, several posts worth here I think, but I'm going to start with a story of Central Park. Looking at the map I discovered there was an area named strawberry Fields with a memorial to John Lennon.

it was clearly a place of pilgrimage so we sat for a while and watched as people came and went.

There were people of all ages and nationalities, families, individuals, groups, all coming to pay their respects.

Then there was the music - all Beatles / Lennon songs of course

and the garland makers who worked diligently until they at finished their task,

Then sat and reflected together for a while,

before laying their garland carefully

and making the final adjustments

until it was perfect

“Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one”

— John Lennon

We're Going to the Zoo - The Animals

My first visit to London Zoo was in the 1950s when the Zoo’s main purpose was to provide a spectacle for the public with a bit of education thrown in. Therefore I was able to take full advantage of all the non PC facilities on offer; camel rides, elephant rides and of course, the chimpanzees tea party. This was eventually discontinued in 1972 when it was realised that the chimps were reluctant to give up their celebrity status and retire out out the limelight, making them rather difficult to handle like many another spoiled celebrity thrown upon hard times.

Today london Zoo is rather an odd place. They are of course in the forefront of modern zoological thinking when it comes to habitat etc but are somewhat disadvantaged by the number of listed buildings on site. Of these the only one still used for its original purpose is the Giraffe house which opened in 1835

A more recent arrival is the pygmy hippo - I don't remember seeing those as a child

The penguins are always a star attraction at any zoo and at Regents Park they had their own specially designed Modernist pool. When they were removed from this recently so it could be refurbished it was discovered that they did much better in a more natural habitat so 'Penguin Beach' was created.

The original pool, which is grade 1 listed, has been turned into a water feature.

Some of the newer areas include walk through aviaries and it's good to be able to get close up without wire or bars in the way.

But the end of the day all the animals are captive, even though their captivity may enable others of their species to roam free in their natural habitat in the future, and they are behind bars.

Till next time x

Photo Heart Connection - May

Joining in with Kat Sloma's Photo Heart Connection - do go and check out the others over on her website

My husband is half Norwegian and has many relations living in Norway. One of these, his cousin Helga, was over for a conference and asked if she could visit us for the weekend. Of course we were delighted to see her, but unfortunately the weekend she was coming coincided with a two day photography course in London that Brian had given me for my birthday.

On the Saturday I headed off to London early, leaving the family to have a celebratory breakfast as it was 17th May , Norwegian National Day, which is a very big deal in Norway but not usually much celebrated in England. Busy on the course I didn't think much more about it until the afternoon when we had to go out and shoot in the streets around the studio where the training was, imagine my surprise and delight when I found this.

A Norwegian deli with these wonderful celebration cakes complete with flag! it really connected me to the celebrations happening and home in my absence and with friends and family in Norway - made my day!

We're going to the Zoo - Butterfly House

“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”

— Nathaniel Hawthorne

Last Sunday I visited London Zoo, I hadn't been for a while, around 18 years in fact, when we took our son. The zoo has changed a lot over the years and I shall say more about that in a future post. For now I will just say that the reason I was at the zoo was because the visit was part of a two day travel photography course that was a birthday present from my husband.

The post gives you a quick look into the 'Butterfly Paradise' exhibition.

This photo was taken with my 55-250cm zoom lens but I soon changed to my 50mm prime lens having left my macro at home. Most of the other shots were taken at f1.8 for those who are interested in the technical details.

There were lots of brightly coloured platforms to attract the butterflies,

but I thought they looked best on a more natural background.

and this was one of my favourites, which is yours?

See you back here soon!

Putting on the Ritz

One of the gifts we were given for our 40th wedding anniversary back in October was a voucher for 'Tea at the Ritz', an eagerly anticipated treat. I thought I would book for sometime in February as this would serve as a lovely treat at the point we were getting fed up with winter weather. So in January I rang up to book and discovered that the first available Saturday (if you wanted to have tea roughly at tea time rather than 11:30 in the morning) was August! At this point we regrouped and agreed the thing to do would be to take a day off work and managed to book for the end of April a couple of days after my birthday for the 5:30 sitting - we were on!

Before going for tea we took in the David Bailey Stardust Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, which I shall be writing about in a future post, Then we took the tube to Piccadilly Circus and walked along Piccadilly towards the Ritz Hotel.

We passed the Royal Academy at Burlington House, popping into the courtyard to view the fountains, then it was on to the Burlington Arcade which comes equipped with doormen

The Burlington Arcade is home to one of my favourite shops Laduree, home of the perfect macaroon. We first discovered them on holiday in Paris and we thrilled when a shop opened in London, they are an expensive and rare treat however! (and yes we did buy some)

How to choose? (salted caramel is my favourites)

Of course I couldn't resist a little street photography

This lot were trying to figure out where to go

Then we had arrived! The decor was pretty plush as you might expect, rather reminiscent of the Palace of Sans Souci in Berlin

The tea, which started with a glass of champagne, was as you might expect, delicious and there was plenty of it.

The service was, of course, excellent

and we had a wonderful time

Postcards from Berlin 6 - Over the Wall

We started day three with a little shopping as I wanted to visit a stationary shop recommended by a website that the gorgeous Stephanie Levy ,a Berlin based artist, alerted me to. The area this shop was in had other interesting shops. bakeries and restaurants, and we returned there in the evening for a lovely meal at Mr Vuong which took us right back to our trip to Vietnam last year.

I loved the flowers painted on this wall

and the sparkly paper tied on to this fence

and I couldn't resist taking a photo of this guy - he looked so cool!

An antiques store had some interesting bits and bobs including these cut out figures for if you can't afford your own staff!

After lunch at the Barn (recommended ) the weather closed in and the brollies came out. Highly suitable for a trip to Starsi HQ. When we got out of the underground at our destination the buildings were grimmer than any others we had seen in Berlin, grey blocks of concrete. The site covered by the EastGerman secret police HQ was huge and when we went in we could see exactly why they needed so much space.

The museum documents the extreme nature of the police state in the GDR. Something like 1 in 3 citizens were under surveillance via pot plant, watering can and other ingenious methodologies for secreting cameras in the most unlikely places. there were huge numbers of police informants. The Stasi seemed to have been much more thorough than their colleagues in the KGB, perhaps because the population was more contained.

There were propaganda posters aplenty which reminded me of the ones we saw in Vietnam last year - there was clearly a communist vernacular in poster art!

Bringing all this to life is the office of Erich Mielke head of the Stasi from 1957 to 1989. His dress uniform still hangs in the cupboard and it seems eerily ready for use, as does the boardroom

In all it was a very sobering experience and made me realise how much we take our democratic freedoms for granted.

Take care and see you next time!

Photo Heart Connection April

My Photo Heart Connection for this month is this picture of a Pasque flower from our garden

Early in April I went into the garden and took pictures of the flowers that were out. One of the reasons for doing this is that we are about to put our house on the market and move from the country into the city. This will be a big adventure for us, we have lived here in this beautiful, quiet, spot for over thirty years and have been lucky to have a large garden that has presented many photographic opportunities.

We will almost certainly have a small courtyard garden in the city which I will like, but which will be very different, so I am savouring my garden and its flowers while I still have it.

Oo see the other Photo Heart connections for April or to join in click on the badge below

Mottisfont Mists

One Saturday near the beginning of April we decided to visit Mottisfont Abbey, a National Trust property about 25 miles away from home. This is normally a property to visit in the summer as it is the proud possessor of a beautiful walled garden which is home to a stunning collection of old fashioned roses. There was a special reason for visiting now however, in that the gallery was housing an exhibition of Patrick Litchfield photographs - I will be writing separately about the 3 photo exhibitions I have been to recently, so this post will be concentrating on Mottisfont itself.

it was a misty day with a soft light and on and off drizzle, but the trees were spectular

There were statues and magnolias

and in the distance a shepherds hut almost disappearing into the mist

Hidden away was this fabulous mosaic by Boris Anrep one of the artists who used to stay in the house regularly. It is said to be a likeness of the owner Maud Russsell with whom he had a long standing love affair after the death of her husband.

I have always associated the walled garden with the wonderful display of roses you can find there in June, and to be honest I didn't think it would be very interesting in spring. I couldn't have been more wrong.

There were wonderful vistas

stunning Colours - the lilies at the top are Crown Imperials, one of Shakespeare's flowers

blossom bursting forth

trimmed box, and pergolas waiting for summer and the Roses

In all a veritable visual feast - see you next time with the April Photo Heart Connection, then its back to Berlin!

Liberate Your Art 2014

This will be my third round of Kat Sloma's wonderful 'Liberate your art postcard swap", and as always it has been great fun.

First off I made the same mistake as last year, I sent off 6 different postcards fairly early on and now have absolutely no idea which ones they were!

I have now seen one of them on the Facebook page and the recipient of another emailed me so these are two of the six I sent!

and these are the beautiful works of art I received.

The first card I received was this serene Buddha was from Twistylane Texas

Next up was this gorgeous mixed media card from Tina who included this hand written quote on the back of the card. You can find her on flickr

“Every horizon, upon being reached reveals another beckoning in the distance. Always I am on the threshold.”

— Eugene Smith

This seems really pertinent today as on our walk across the downs yesterday we experienced just this sensation!

Love this self-portrait from Lynne who you can find on flickr

Postcard number four is this glorious abstract from Carlyn Clark it has the following handwritten quote on the back which I just love

“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on”

— Albert Einstein

Number five is of beautiful sea birds from Annie Kelleher of Crimson Cove Photography with this quote on the back

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source you will truly have defeated age”

— Sophia Loren

Last to arrive was Kat's card which was as always just beautiful

Here you have them on my white board all together

and with a bit of context!

Huge thanks to Kat for organising this swap again - do go visit some of the other participants in the swap via this link

Postcards from Berlin 5 - A Wild Goose chase

After our visit to the East Side Gallery and our lunch in the sunshine, we headed off on foot to find Tacheles. Described in our guide book (the Rough Guide to Berlin) thus, ' a taste of Berlin artists' squatter culture is offered in the multi story counter-cultural workshop' the whole thing looked fascinating .

First stop was Hackeschen Hofe 'a series of elegant early twentieth century courtyards with stylish cafes and boutiques' (Rough Guide)

There are some fun shops including one specialising in Ampelmann ( the little chap from the East German crossing signs) nostalgia.I loved the pink saddle protectors on these bikes!

Next stop was a small art gallery where we had a look round and stopped for a coffee - there was an interesting line in taxidermy in the coffee shop

We continued up the street thinking that according to the map we should be able to spot our destination by now, but all we could see was a rather desolate abandoned building which was showing every indication that it was about to be pulled down. It couldn't be? could it? it was!

The now-abandoned and somewhat forlorn Tacheles building stared out at us and we stared back. After the first initial disappointment we spotted some items of interest

A sculpture here

some graffiti there - and finally the proof positive that we were in the right place although sadly we had missed the party! in all it was a bit of a wild goose chase

Spring is Sprung

“De spring is sprung, de grass is riz.

I wonder where dem boidies is?

They say the boid is on the wing.

But that’s absoid. The wing is on the bird.”

— Anon

Spring has definitely sprung in my garden and yesterday I went for a walk round to see what I could capture - these are not the only flowers in the garden, but rather the one's whose pictures I liked best.

Pasque flowers are one of my favourite spring flowers. They represent such good value, looking great at every stage of their life cycle from the first feathery leaves that push through the bare earth, to the spectacular seed heads. They're even self seeding and I now have three plants instead of two.

Further on down the garden the first clematis is out, a macropelia of some kind I think; the label is long gone

Surprise flower of the day was this marigold. Self-seeded from two years ago I wouldn't expect to see it before June or possibly May at a push. It certainly makes a splash of bright colour now the daffs are over.

Next up its the japonica, a huge bush. I love the way it starts flowering on the bare stems before continuing to flower against the dark green leaves. Its in the transitional phase at present.

Finally I'm going to share with you my favourite photo from the shoot although its definitely not my favourite plant!

The humble dandelion, growing as usual somewhere it shouldn't, with those pesky long roots that are so hard to get out. Really worth clicking on this to enlarge the image and see the detail - I really hadn't expected it to look so pretty close up!

Thats all for today, hope your garden ( if you have one) has similar treasures, I'd love to know what they are!

Back to Berlin next time!

Photo Heart Connection March

“God’s in his Heaven -
Alls alright with the world”

— Robert Browning

The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn:
God's in His heaven—
All's right with the world!

Extract from Pippa Passes by Robert Browning

This poem sums up what I feel about this month's Photo Heart Connection. As regular readers of my blog will know I have just returned from a short break in Berlin where we had a fabulous time. There was, however, one defining moment when everything came together to produce a sparking moment of joy and happiness.

I am currently taking James Baraz's course 'Awakening Joy'. A part of this is increasing your ability to recognise and savour joy in the present moment and just such a moment occurred during our trip. We had visited the East Side Gallery of the Berllin Wall ( pictures coming soon) and then stopped for lunch in the Hackescher Markt, a square containing a number of open air cafes and restaurants. We choose one, sat down to peruse the menu and I ordered a glass of Gruner Veltllinger, a wine I really like that not readily available outside Austria and Germany. So we sat there in the warm spring sunshine (you know, the first day when sitting outside is not any kind of ordeal because of the cold wind) in a square full of buzzing happy people and a busker began playing the trumpet (an instrument I love), and I just thought 'It really doesn't get any better then this!'

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

Postcards from Berlin 2 - I should (ro) Coco

Day two. The weather forecast was set fair so we seized the opportunity for a fresh air experience and set off for Potsdam and the Palace of Sanssouci. the trip involved a 45 minute journey on the S Bahn and I have to say that the Berlin public transport system is just wonderful - so easy to get around. When we arrived a Potsdam the station was modern light and airy with great florists - I particularly liked these arrangements in jars.

Next it was off on the bus to Sanssouci where we were greeted by a flautist emulating the flute playing of Fredrick the Great who built the palace.

Fredrick commissioned the palace in 1745 because he wanted a place to live outside Berlin that was 'without worries" or 'sans souci'. It was to be a refuge from government and court life where he would spend time with music, literature and friends such as Voltaire. For this reason, although architecturally grand, it is a small palace with a mere dozen or so rooms.

Time to join the guided tour or rather tour with handsets for the different languages. Unfortunately they were the sort of handsets you have to hand hold which made listening to the commentary and taking pictures a bit of a challenge - but hey, I managed after a fashion.

This is a detail from one of my favourite rooms. I'm not usually very keen on too much gold but I really liked the gold and white here especially the spider's web

It worked for me in this room too. As you might imagine from the musical theme, concerts were often held here and the whole palace was bright and light

This room had a bit of a jungle theme going on and was, I think, the room (kept missing bits of the commentary due to taking photos) that Fredrick had redecorated as an insult to Voltaire after they fell out.

The last thing you see as you exit the tour is this portrait Fredrick the Great by Andy Warhol. It is based on one displayed in one of the rooms which unfortunately I didn't especially notice.

Back out in the garden it was time to explore the park and I have to say my absolute favourite things were these little pavilions,

first glimpsed through the trees

then come upon in their full glory. It took us ages to work out what these grey boxes dotted all over the gardens were, but we eventually twigged that they are winter sculpture protectors!

Next it was off for a walk round the gardens - Sanssouci is built on a hill on what was a vineyard. The vines are still there and make an impressive picture from the bottom of the hill. I used my iPhone and the XnSketch app to take this photo

Our walk through the grounds took us past the Chinese Tea Pavillion, unfortunately not open until May but a joy to behold.

It was decorated with gilded figures that carried on the musical theme from the house

Even the ducks were mandarin!

There is much more to see and do in Potsdam than we achieved in a fairly short day ( this break was not designed to include early starts each morning!) more palaces to visit, lakes and of course the town itself - I think it's Auf Weidersehen not goodbye!

Postcards from Berlin 1 - Willkommen

We have just returned from a five night break in Berlin, in some ways the most mysterious of European capital cities. It is a city where the traditional rubs shoulders with the avant guard, where art is king and above all it is a city that has to live with its past.

This is our second visit to Berlin. The first with our then 12 year old son was around 10 years ago. On that occasion we scurried around making sure we ticked off all the major sites: the Reichstag, the Jewish Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, the Pergamon Museum etc. This trip was to be less frenetic with time for art galleries, a trip out to Potsdam, and other attractions. with a main focus on the galleries. This however was not exactly what Berlin had in store for us.

The visit started according to plan. We had to get up incredibly early to catch our 6.30 flight from Gatwick, so after checking into our hotel we set off to have lunch in the food hall at the biggest and possibly the best department store in Europe, KaDeWe, which was just a short walk from our hotel.

Lunch at the grill counter was delicious and we felt up for a tiny bit of sightseeing despite our early start, so we visited the nearby Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachniskirche. Destroyed by British bombers in 1943 this crumbling ruin serves as a reminder of the destruction caused by war. Presumably it had gone one crumble too far as the scaffolding was up and we were unable to visit the remains of the nave as we had done previously.

The centre tower is the original church, at the front is the new campanile- not sure about the spire!

The new modern chapel with its stunning blue stained glass was open to the public however.

The floor was impressive too

When we came out of the church it was raining and we were feeling pretty whacked so we decided to go back to the hotel. Once there, that was it, and, unusually for us, we didn't even venture out for dinner!

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

Photo Heart Connection February

It's time to join in with Kat Sloma's Photo Heart Connection for February.

I have been severely challenged in taking photos this month due to a combination of the appalling weather conditions and the fact that I've been very busy at work so when we have had good weather when I've been working, I haven't been able to get out.

I could of course have set up some shots to take indoors using props but although I really like the results when others do it, It doesn't appeal to me as an activity.

So as you can see I was a little stumped by what to choose as my photo heart connection, until Thursday that is, when I looked up from my desk to notice the light and reflections of a string of metal leaves I have hung up in the window - everything changed!

I took a number of pictures zooming in and out and was surprised when I found I had a triple reflection which I had not noticed just looking at the leaf

one of the original images with just a bit of touching up in lightroom

I thought it would be good to pop across to Photoshop and experiment with blend modes and textures - these are some of the results

I have also just started Kelly Rae Roberts Hello Soul Hello Mixed-Media Mantra's course, which is about painting rather than photography, but the first part of the course is about coming up with mantras which are personal to us - so of course I couldn't resist including some of them on these pictures which seemed the perfect vehicle for them.

Experimenting was really fun

and it's hard to choose a favourite

But I think this is the one that most makes my heart sing and therefore is my Photo Heart Connection for February

I think what I really love about this one is the way the original leaf shines out in silver with the lacy reflections behind.

I'd love to know which is your favourite!

This post is part of Photo Heart Connection - click on the icon below to check out more fabulous photos with a connection to the heart

Little Ladies and Other Animals

Little ladies, white and green,
With your spears about you,
Will you tell us where you've been
Since we lived without you?

You are sweet, and fresh, and clean,
With your pearly faces;
In the dark earth where you've been
There are wondrous places:

Yet you come again, serene,
When the leaves are hidden;
Bringing joy from where you've been
You return unbidden--

Little ladies, white and green,
Are you glad to cheer us?
Hunger not for where you've been,
Stay till Spring be near us!

Laurence Alma-Tadema

I have a tune in my head that goes with this so I think we must have sung it at school! Moving swiftly on, I did not intend to do another post about the snowdrops at Welford Park having majored on them last year. But we went again as I wanted to see them in the sunshine, rather than in the rain and sleet, and amazingly it was sunny last Sunday.

The scent was amazing, so sweet and woody - if you think snowdrops don't have a scent think again!

Snowdrops are not the only thing to be seen at Welford Park though, there are aconites,

bright reflections and Pussy Willow,

dogs,

big and small!

and wonderful wellies!

These were my favourites!

See you next week to welcome in the spring. Yay!

A Trip to the Theatre

““The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”

— JM Barrie

Last weekend we went to Stratford upon Avon to see a performance by the RSC at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The Theatre has recently been completely refurbished and extended and this is our first visit since it reopened. I like what they have done and how they have kept the shell of the original Art Deco building with its distinctive brick work and doors.

In front of the theatre are a series of sculptures of what are probably the best known characters in Shakespeare’s plays

These first two are Falstaff and Lady Macbeth. I'm not so keen on him, not my conception of Falstaff at all, but I think she looks suitably menacing, not to mention cross-eyed!

I much prefer the two princes - the tragic Hamlet and the triumphant Prince Hal.

I also love this new sculpture of swans - I think the lines are amazing

So, you may be asking, which of Shakespeare’s works did we grace with our presence? Well actually none of it! we went to see Peter Pan or more accurately ‘Wendy and Peter Pan’ a new play based on the original novel told from a feminist perspective.

it worked brilliantly! The script was witty and amusing, engaging adults and children in the audience alike and the set was amazing including the best pirate ship I have ever seen, and I am in a position to compare as I have seen Peter Pan on a number of occasions.

I think one of the reasons I have a soft spot for Peter Pan is that it was the first live theatre I ever saw. It was 1960 I was 8 and I saw what I think must have been the pre or post West End run at the Streatham Hill Theatre - now long since turned into a bingo hall. The all star cast included Julia Lockwood as Peter (always played by a girl in those days in true Pantomime tradition, no dame in Peter Pan though), Juliet Mills as Wendy and Donald Sinden as Captain Hook / Mr Darling a part that was traditionally always doubled up. I found the whole thing completely magical and practiced flying by jumping off my bed for the next few weeks (sadly to no avail).

Julia Lockwood daughter of Margaret Lockwood and Juliet Mills, daughter of sir John Mills and sister of Hayley Mills

The next version I saw was in 1965 when I was invited to go to a performance with my friend Bonnie whose grandmother was taking all her grandchildren. The whole thing was quite an adventure, Bonnie’s mother took us, together with Bonnie's much younger brother Geoff, over to Portsmouth on the ferry and from there we were put on a train to Horsham in Sussex where Bonnie's grandmother would join us on the journey to London (first time on a train without an accompanying adult). We then went to the matinee at the Scala followed by tea at the Grovenor Hotel (another first) before going back to Horsham where we spent the night at her grandmother's returning to the Island the following day.

That year Peter was played by Sylvia Sims and I felt the magic as before, although I had given up trying to fly!

My next outing to see Peter was in 1997 when my son was 5 years old. This time we saw it at the National Theatre with an all start cast led by Ian McKellen as Captain Hook - Mrs Darling was played by Jenny Agutter currently of ‘Call the Midwife’ fame but then still very much associated with her role of Bobbie in the Railway Children (you can imagine how old this made me feel!) Again a magical production. Patrick sat through the 3 hours as mesmerised as I had been all those years ago, giving the lie to his teachers who said he had a short attention span!

Some time after this, and I can’t track down the year, we saw a production at our local theatre the Watermill, again an excellent production but due to the limitations of the venue my memory is there was no flying.

So when, quite by chance, I came upon the reviews for 'Wendy and Peter Pan' I simply couldn't resist and don't forget if you want to visit Neverland it's “Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning. ”

“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust. ”

— JM Barrie

Photo Heart Connection January

This month for the first time I am joining in with Kat Sloma's Photo Heart Conection. The idea is to 'Deepen the connection between your photos and your heart and soul by participating in this monthly review of your images, to find the one that best connects to your heart.' after much thought I choose this image of someone I saw on the tube in London.

I got on the train at the terminal ( where it is not underground) and noticed this man sitting in the corner opposite me - I thought he had the most amazing face somehow full of humour and wisdom. I reminded myself that my word of the year is courage and asked him if I could take a picture - he agreed and though you can't really see it ( I had my 50m fixed lens on) made a kind of Jazz hands gesture. In that moment I felt a real connection with this stranger here on the London Underground where our our paths intersected for a brief, (he got out at the next station), moment.