Holidaying in Belgium August 1914

On the 4th of August 1914 my great Aunt Rose and her sister Lily were enjoying their holiday in Belgium, you could say their timing wasn't perfect, what follows is the story of their adventures trying to make their way back to England through the war zone, as published in their local paper.

I make no apology for reposting this today

In memory of Rosina Eynon nee Poulden 1889 -1975

A flight from Liege

Southenders and the fighting

Young ladies thrilling experiences

How they came home to England

The following experiences of the Misses Poulden of ‘Kingsbury’ 357 Leigh Road Westcliff have been specially written for the Southend Standard. They only reached England on Friday evening after one of the most terrifying journeys young ladies could take by themselves. Actually witnessing the fighting as they journeyed down to the coast.. The story written by them is as under -

My sister and I left London on the 25th July with a party of tourists for our fortnight’s vacation, the first week of which was to be spent sightseeing in Brussels, and the second week enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Belgian Ardennes at the little village of Aywaille, which is situated close to the German frontier. The week at Brussels passed pleasantly without any event. On Saturday 1 August my sister, two Scotch girls and I left Brussels for Aywaille: the rest of the party going in other directions. At that time, although we knew that fighting was in progress between Austria and Serbia, we had no suspicions of other complications arising, and knowing that Belgium was neutral we felt perfectly safe. We reached Aywaille safely on Saturday evening, but on arriving at the hotel were rather astonished to find that there was no English guide there to meet us. We were the only four English speaking people in the town, and as our knowledge of the French language is limited we gained very little knowledge of the outside world.

On Sunday we explored the immediate neighbourhood, and on Monday took a train to Coo, which is even nearer the German territory than Aywaille, being quite unconscious of the troublous state of affairs. On Tuesday morning we came down to breakfast and were very much surprised to find the little village in a great state of excitement, and we managed to understand by their actions that Germany had declared war against Belgium and that the enemy was then marching towards the village. The inhabitants were in a state of panic; women and children were weeping, while the men were engaged in barricading the doors and windows, and collecting together their valuables.

Whole families were abandoning everything and rushing into the woods. Seeing how matters stood, we thought it advisable to make investigations regarding our homeward journey. To our great dismay on reaching the station we found that the train services between Aywaille and Liege had been stopped. We explained out position to the station master but he told us there was no way of reaching England. We then proceeded to the post office to telephone or telegraph the nearest British Consul, but found all the wires had been cut and that there was no means of communication whatever. Our efforts to obtain any conveyance proved fruitless as all vehicles had been commandeered for the army, and we were told that even if we could obtain a conveyance we should not be able to proceed far as the roads were barricaded. Now for the first time we began to realise the helplessness of our position. This proved a most wearing day. We sat outside the hotel silently wondering whether we should ever see our friends and relations again. Every time the German soldiers passed through the street, the inhabitants rushed into their houses and bolted the door. We seemed to have the village to ourselves. As the day wore on we became desperate and determined the next morning to attempt to continue our journey to Liege on foot, a distance of about 30 miles. The cook at the hotel, a woman, told us that her home was at Liege and that she would also accompany us.

The next morning (Wednesday) soon after 8 o’clock, we abandoned our luggage and started on our walk, not knowing that Liege was the centre of the fighting. We avoided all direct roads, going through woods and by narrow paths trough the Ardennes. The first seven or eight miles were completed without much inconvenience, except that at times the peasants, hearing that we spoke a language foreign to their own, jumped to the conclusion that we were German, and consequently, we were not very cordially welcomed. Naturally we hastened to undeceive them. As a matter of fact, before many hours had passed we were quite tired of using the sentence “nous sommes Anglais” These few words made a remarkable difference in the demeanour of the people towards us. They would smile, wish to shake hands, and try to tell us the best road, but one and all shook their heads and did their best to make us understand that we were undertaking a practically impossible task, as the roads further on were impassable, being lined with soldiers. We also heard reports of Belgian civilians being killed on the road, which whether true or untrue did not tend to give us much encouragement. As we proceed further the way became more and more difficult. On either side of each village roads and paths were blocked with trees which had been cut down and piled one on top of an other; telegraph poles were lying by the roadside and several times we had difficulty in extricating our feet from the entangled telegraph wires. Rain came down in torrents, and we heard what we first took to be thunder, but which afterwards proved to be cannon.

At about 2pm we met two men who were also trying to get into Liege. One was a Belgian soldier on his way to join his regiment at Namur. What the other man was we do not know, but he told us it was absolutely impossible for us to get back to England, as there were no trains running between Liege and Brussels, and also that there were no boats to England. The road now became harder and harder, and we certainly should not have been able to get over some of the blockages if it had not been for the Belgian soldier. At times he carried us bodily over trees and over overturned carts. Often we had to go out of our way and into the woods to avoid the soldiers. As we passed through the outskirts of Vise the report of the cannon and the cracking of rifles sounded louder and louder, and after each report we would look round to see whether all were safe. We could see smoke rising from among the trees. A Belgian soldier shot in the arm was taken into a cottage as we passed.

The man who had previously joined our party by this time appeared to us to be on very friendly terms with the cook and they conversed together in an undertone. They seemed to be talking about us, and we first had suspicions of our company when we heard them say “elles ne comprennend pas”. We asked the Belgian soldier who was with us whether there was a British consul in Liege and he replied in the affirmative. The other man on hearing our question, came up and said he was going to conduct us to the British consul. Being suspicious we asked him to write down the address of the British consul, which he did. By this time about 4pm we were nearing Liege in a practically exhausted condition, not having had any food or rest on the way; excitement alone kept us going. Here we met several other men going in the same direction. We tried to put questions to the newcomers regarding the address of the British consul and also trains from Liege, but each time the man with the cook would interfere saying he was going to guide us to the British Consul, and we could get no definite information. We became more anxious and while three of us kept the cook and the man in conversation in broken French the other Scotch girl loitered behind and begged a man to try to find out for us the address of the consul in Liege. This address proved to be quite different from the one given by the other man. From time to time we heard that there were trains running from Liege but these were contradicted by our first companions. Now as we neared Liege we found the road blocked by Belgian soldiers and civilians and we had to prove our nationality before we were allowed to pass.

After this the road was less obstructed and presently we saw a motor car coming towards us. The Belgian soldier stopped the car, showed a paper and before we realised what was happening, the car was turned round and our friendly soldier born away.

At about 5pm we entered the town and were thankful to find that the street trams were still running. We all boarded a tram which we took to the middle of the town. The man who had given us the printed address of the consul said quietly to us as we were getting on to the car “A la Grande Place demandes un gendarme” (at the Grand Place ask for a policeman). Although we were in an absolutely exhausted condition, we realised the necessity of bearing up and acting for ourselves. The destination of the car happened to be the Grande Place itself. The cook and her companion got out with us and the man told us now that we were out of danger and that he would conduct us in a carriage to the British counsel. We told him we wished to go alone, but we could not get rid of him. Meantime one of the Scotch girls had found an officer to whom she explained as best she could that she did not trust the man with us and asked to be directed to the station. He seemed to understand and pointed out a certain tram. We went towards the tram but the man followed us, telling us to come with him in a carriage to the consul. We only succeeded in getting rid of the man after the officer had spoken to him. We were quite thankful to get into the car free from our companions.

The streets of Liege presented a strange sight; soldiers tired out by either fighting or walking were lying about the streets like cattle.

On arriving at the station we found to our relief that the trains were still running to Brussels. On the platform we met the Belgian soldier who had helped us earlier in the day. We offered him money in repayment for his kindness, which he courteously refused. He saw us safely into the train, wished us “Bon voyage” and hastened to his own train for Namur. The journey to Brussels which usually takes about two hours on this occasion took five hours, we not arriving in Brussels until 11pm. We put up in an hotel for the night and after breakfast on Thursday morning went to the British Consul. He told us we had had a wonderful escape and advised us to catch the first possible train to Ostend, and then, to use his expression “to nip into the first boat to England”. He also advised us to wear our national colours, which we were ready enough to do. Those in the street were sporting Belgian, French and English colours. On our way to the station we heard reports that Vise, the town through which we had passed, and Aywaille, where we had stayed had been burned to the ground. If these reports are true we have reason to be thankful.

We had three hours to wait for a train from Brussels to Ostend. As we were entering the carriage a wounded soldier was brought along and we were asked if we would take charge of him to Ghent. He had just come from active service at Liege, where he had been shot in the leg. They placed him full length on one side of the carriage. He looked in a very sorry plight, with dirty bloodstained face and hands. We made him as comfortable as we could under the circumstances.

At Ostend we had to undergo very close scrutiny before we were allowed on the boat, but had no trouble in establishing our nationality. The boat left at about 3.30pm and after a very rough passage we arrived at Folkestone at about eight pm and eventually at Charing Cross at eleven pm.

I am confident that nobody was ever more pleased to set foot on English ground than we were. It will be very many years before we forget our “holiday” in Belgium.

Published in the Southend Standard 18th August 1914

Independence Day

“Where liberty dwells, there is my country”

— Benjamin Franklin

Last week we had some American cousins staying with us and on the days I wasn't working I offered to take them out and about. On Thursday we did Bath and on Friday 4th July it was the turn of Stonehenge and Salisbury.

Stonehenge is in the middle of Salisbury Plain and I love the big skies you find there

Although we had driven past it many times, I had only visited on one other occasion when our school trip stopped off at the stones on the way home to Dorset from London. It was quite magical, the sun was setting and we were able to wander around inside the stones to our hearts' content, it has become a cherished memory.

Later, driving past on frequent trips to visit my parents in Somerset, I saw a large wire perimeter fence had sprung up separating the visitors from the stones - I had no wish to stop as I felt it would only spoil the memory.

Last year, however, English Heritage changed the access to the stones and opened a new visitors' centre as befits a World Heritage Site. The transformation was radical! Gone was the fence, visitors are able to get really close to the stones in some places and, to my great surprise, it was fairly easy to take photographs without hordes of people in them.

It's hard to know if the stones are more impressive in colour or black and white

The stones and the visitors' centre explored, we set off for Salisbury where another stone edifice was the main attraction - the cathedral.

After exploring the main church we set off through the cloisters to the beautiful Chapter House where one of the two original versions of the Magna Carta signed at Runnymede in 1215 is displayed. Again I have only been to Runnymede once, under similar circumstance to my trip to Stonehenge, on the way back from a school trip. We stopped at the Airforce Memorial in the early evening and were infused with such a sense of beauty and peace. Since my visit there a memorial to JFK has been added.

The exhibitions showed links between the Declaration of Independence and Magna Carta and had quotes from various individuals in history who had paved the way to freedom, such as Martin Luther King. I think we all felt it very special to be viewing this historic document on American Independence Day.

“Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable - a most sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world.”

— Abraham Lincoln

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!

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!

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!

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

Postcards from Berlin 4 - On the East Side

On the second day of our visit the weather was as good, possibly even better than, the day before. Perfect for visiting the East Side Gallery.

The gallery is a 1.3 Km stretch of the Berlin Wall covered with political and satirical murals first painted in 1989 just after the wall fell. Time and weather took its toll so that the original artists were invited back to repaint their work for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall in 2009.

Despite notices asking them not to, individuals have added their own graffiti to the murals which unfortunately is mostly of the 'I woz 'ere' or 'Jonny loves Jane' variety, that doesn't add anything to the original works. I have not included the works where, as in this one, I felt the graffiti really detracted from them.

I thought long hard about how best to share the feel of the art on the wall with you and came to the conclusion that the best thing to do was to create a vimeo video. Watch it full screen - it really makes a difference to the experience!

East Side Gallery from Barbara Evans on Vimeo.

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!

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

Festival of Imagination

“Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?”

— Sun Tzu

Yesterday I attended an event at the Selfridges 'Festival of Imagination' which is a programme of 'interactive lectures, debates and workshops' held in a specially designed space called the Imaginarium at Selfridges Oxford St store. Award-winning architect Rem Koolhaas created a space full of mirrors and possibilities with a central feature amphitheatre.

The event I attended was 'Eureka! Moments' with Cathy Haynes from the 'School of Life' and was about exploring ways of boosting your creative confidence. The time was short, only 90 minutes, but she managed to pack a lot in.

Haynes discribes a 'Eureka! moment' as being a moment when 'something we couldn't think comes thinkable' or when the 'impossible becomes possible'. She also talks about combination and connection and things not just coming out of the blue. We should use and expand what we have. As an example of this she cites the creative process of the poet WB Yeats in relation to his poem the 'Lake Isle of Innisfree'. You can hear him describe this in his own words and read his poem here. This is a poem I am extremely familiar with, because as well as being in our poetry book at school, we had to sing it!

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15529#sthash.Sc4xr08G.dpuf

“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it) but ‘That’s funny ‘ ....”

— Isaac Asimov

The session was broken up by discussions and exercises to get us thinking. One of these was design your own muse, where you thought of real or fictional figures who have / represent qualities or attitudes you would like to develop and then put them together in a kind of 'mix and match' approach. I'm still working on mine but it's an intriguing concept!

Well done to Selfridges for putting on the Festival of Imagination! I was very impressed when I left, to notice all the shop windows had an imaginative theme like these maraca toothbrushes and punk taps, rather than being stuffed full of things for sale .

I especially loved this plant watering umbrella!

See you next time and happy imagining!

Brighton or Bust!

I was hoping my first post of the New Year would be something profound and inspirational, you know the sort of thing - my dreams for 2014 - how I choose my word of 2014 and its meaning to me (it's 'Courage' by the way), or other grand designs. The fact is, however, I've been stuck at home since before New Year with the worst cold and cough I've had in years and while I'm managing to remain generally quite positive my brain really isn't functioning anything like well enough to do profound and inspirational. So instead I'm going to show you one of my favourite bits of Brighton, where we were staying with my mother-in-law just after Christmas.

For most people I suspect Brighton conjures up images of the Pavillion, the Seafront, the Pier ( or possibly piers though that's a mute point) but for me its the North Laine shopping area. Brighton's Lanes have been well known for decades sporting expensive shops and antique emporia, but within the last 30 or so years an different shopping scene has appeared full of alternative shops and well, fun.

There's fabulous graffiti

Great Signs

Brightly coloured shop fronts

And a host of ethnic, vegetarian and vegan cafes to choose from

Amazingly the sun was warm enough and the street sheltered enough to make sitting outside a positive choice even if you weren't a smoker - and of course here is always a story to tell

Then there are the goods - a huge variety and these are only what you see on the street

The shops are all quite small inside and many were crowded so I thought twice about taking any pictures

and finally the people - the Balloon Man

The Busker

The inevitable mobile phone user

The stall holder

and of course the shoppers

The reason I really like it here is because it's vibrant and varied - and that includes both shoppers and shops. At a time when our high streets (if they still exist), are full of clones and the shopping malls are even worse, it is a real pleasure to see individual enterprises flourishing - and who could resist these feminist, empowered legs?

South Bank Saturday

Last Saturday found us on London's South Bank. We were up to go to the theatre, twice! Once at the Young Vic and once at the National, great performances but maybe something for another post.

We arrived in time to have a wander round and for me to practice my newly found street photography skills.

To give a bit of context for those of you who haven't visited, London's South Bank is a huge arts centre with the National Theatre, Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Gallery, British Film Institute and more huddled together next to Waterloo Bridge. The first buildings including the Festival Hall were erected to celebrate the Festival of Britain in 1951 which was supposed to cheer everyone up in the face of ongoing post-war rationing and shortages. Researching the Festival of Britain I came across this mini documentary that was just delightful and I would urge to to give it a try. It's interesting to compare the visitors then and now!

This is an edited version of the 1952 film in which Sir Hugh Casson and Patrick O'Donovan look back to the Festival of Britain on London's South Bank. We have cut descriptions of the architecture and how it would help design Britain's new towns.

Looking out over the river from the South Bank you get a wonderful view of St Paul's

There are always lots of people at the South Bank on weekends

people chilling, eating, out with their dogs.

Even more than usual because of the Christmas Market

I have a soft spot for anyone with pink hair for obvious reasons!

People are dressed in a variety of styles, there are families

and couples.

And around the back of the Festival Hall away from the river, a 'Real Food' market

Something for everyone on the South Bank on a Saturday afternoon!

Autumn Colours - Town and Country

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower”

— Albert Camus

I have been busy photographing the autumn colours over the last week or so, they are just about at their peak now and really rather wonderful this year. It's not the same every year, some times the leaves just seem to dry up and fall off the trees with out really turning properly, others they get whipped off the trees by a gale before they reach their full potential.

I am going to share some pictures I took in our garden, in the local woods and finally in Winchester. The home and woods photos have had textures added to them; these are from 2 Lil Owls and I downloaded them on a great deal from Design Cuts

These pictures were taken on a dull, drizzly day, but I have to say tha although I really love the beauty of the muted autumn colours, they are much harder to capture successfully . The top photo here has been popped through Lightroom so is not just as shot; the bottom one has had textures added which have really lifted it.

The contrast is much less marked with these next two and I really like both versions very much.

Off for a walk in the woods now and this time its a bright sunny day, with mid afternoon light and the sun blazing through the leaves.

I really like both versions of the sun on these ferns, the bottom one is the original, which do you like best?

The final photo was taken on the way home as the sun twinkled at us through the taller trees.

This next set of pictures were taken in Winchester last Friday when I popped out for a quick lunchtime photo walk (a rare treat). These have just had my usual Lightroom adjustments - no textures this time. I headed down to the cathedral thinking the trees on the approach would look gorgeous - not so, they had't really changed in colour and had lost many of their leaves. I headed round to the back of the cathedral to see what I could find there. What I found was a hive of activity in preparation for the Christmas Market.

Further on though I noticed something I hadn't spotted before, a Barbara Hepworh sculpture apparently done as an homage to Joan Miro, I thought it look rather fine against the backdrop of autumn leaves.

I also loved the bright blue of this door

Heading back to the office I was struck by this memorial to one of the Riffle brigades emblazoned against the blue sky with the poppy wreaths still at its foot

Nearly back at the office, my final photo opportunity of the day was the Elizabeth Frink Horse and Rider which was in the embrace of a waterfall of brightly coloured leaves.

Hope you have a great week - see you next time X

Flight from Liege - A Tale of The Great War

“One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans”

— Otto Von Bismark (1888)

Today's post is the story of how my Great Aunt Rose escaped from occupied Belgium at the start of the first world war. Following her safe return home to Southend with her sister Lily, they wrote up their story for the local paper. What follows is a transcript of that article.

The poppy in the picture below was taken in St Valerie sur Somme which seems very appropriate for Remembrance Sunday.