[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 30 July 2024].
The Old Toll House, a Grade II listed building formerly a turnpike tollhouse.
along the sandstone trail
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 1 April 2024].
It's already been a week since I returned from Delamere.
I managed to edit the above photo and a couple of others for a separate post before I travelled down to sit my regulars in Bromley on Wednesday evening. I'd hoped to write this post while there, but you know how sometimes you don't realise how tired you are until you stop? That.
So, I'm writing this on my one full day at home after my return from Bromley and before I head up to Glasgow for the best part of a week.
For my second trip courtesy of Avanti West Coast (well, technically, my third, as I booked it last and it was the 'bonus' trip I would give up if I couldn't afford the accommodation or my leave request was refused, but chronologically, it was the second), I opted to return to Manchester.
I figured that, as I'd visited the city quite a few times already, I wouldn't lose anything if I had to give it up, and it was a sufficient distance to justify the enjoyment of a first-class seat.
I looked at Airbnb options in and around the city but couldn't find any that stood out. I had decided I would, most likely, stay in a hotel at Media City. But I would also keep an eye out for pet sittings in and around Manchester in case something suitable popped up to avoid me having to pay for accommodation.
I booked my train tickets and annual leave in mid-January, and then in late February, a couple of possible sittings came up through Trusted Housesitters and I applied for both.
To my joy and surprise, I received a positive reply to one of the applications the morning after I applied, with the invitation to a virtual meet and greet in early March. And I received an invitation to sit from the other, mere hours after the first pet parent responded.
While I would happily have spent a long weekend entertaining and being entertained by a corgi called Winston in Manchester itself, I held out for the virtual meet and greet with the owner of a cat, Peter, and (wait for it...) two peacocks, Bowie and Mercury, in a cottage near the village of Delamere in Cheshire, about an hour and ten minutes on the train from Manchester.
I was apprehensive about the prospect of sitting peacocks, but the location, the cottage and the opportunity to experience such things, were too good for me not to apply and find out more.
Long story short: my hour-and-a-half phone call with the pets' parent reassured me I wasn't taking on something I couldn't handle, and I was pleased to be offered the sit.
Peter the cat is a dentist, so I can't show you his face.
Or rather, for privacy reasons, I can't share photos of the pets I sat or the home I stayed in. But I will share plenty of photos from my time exploring a stretch of the Sandstone Trail, the nearby Delamere Forest, the walk up the Old Pale hill, and my walk between Delamere Railway Station, Delamare, Oakmere and Kelsall villages over the coming months (or years, knowing me).
The peacocks are beautiful creatures and seemed to warm to me over the few days I was there, though not enough to feed from my hand. I was less comfortable with the Angus bulls I encountered, though thankfully, none charged me. Sir Peter was an absolute sweetheart, and probably the snuggliest cat I've ever encountered.
The above photo was taken near the junction of the Sandstone Trail with the path from Delamere Railway Station.
The weather was somewhat unpredictable, with strong winds and short-lived showers creeping up on me, but I managed to experience some lovely spring weather and even get a bit of colour in my face (and my freckles came out) on my last full day wandering. It was a few degrees cooler than London, at about 7-9 degrees each day, but with a coat, mittens and leg warmers, and the body heat generated by walking, it was quite pleasant, and on the last day, more like sweater weather once I was moving.
I hope to return to sit those beautiful beasties again and explore more of the local area. I decided to forego wandering the forest itself, as on the Sunday I was there, every man and his dog and child (literally) was out doing just that. And Delamere is a perfect spot to explore nearby villages and venture further afield to Chester, Liverpool and Manchester.
east briscoe
glass house mountains
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 29 March 2023].
The same day Mum, Dad and I visited Peachester Cemetery, we travelled along a road giving us a view of the Glass House Mountains.
It wasn't the best weather that day, but the view was still impressive.
After an extensive discussion with Dad, we believe all but the second photograph is Mount Coonowrin, but taken from various directions (some of the photos were taken 20 minutes apart).
I'm unsure which of the Glass House Mountains the second photograph is, so if you know, please feel free to weigh in.
As with many natural formations in Australia, the First Nations Australians have a legend about the mountains. Wikipedia tells me they are located in the traditional lands of the Jinibara and Gubbi Gubbi people.
I don't recall visiting them in my childhood or teens. But I would be surprised if we didn't at least drive through the area and admire them while I lived in Brisbane or when visiting Queensland after we moved away.
public footpath
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 23 August 2022].
For those who aren't aware, England, Scotland, and Wales have a system of public footpaths and bridleways collectively recognised as rights of way.
They allow folk to travel across private land without fear of a charge of trespassing. Or threat or reprisal from landowners.
In rural areas, they can make getting from Point A to Point B on foot a much quicker journey than if you had to stick to the footpaths alongside roads. They also make for interesting routes for those of us inclined to photo walks.
The entrance to this public footpath can be found north of Cotton End.
I didn't take it while I was cat-sitting for Jo and Becky this time, but hopefully, if I have the chance to cat-sit Meg and Mog again, I will be able to explore it further.
Or, at least, others not far away which lead to places that seem enticing to my photographic eye.
If you want to see how extensive the right-of-way system is in the UK, check out the Footpath Map.
...and a shed in the back
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 6 August 2022].
I took these photos in October last year when I was in Minera, Wales, cat-sitting Meg and Mog for friends.
In a few days, I'll be cat-sitting Meg and Mog again, but it will be in a village a short distance south of Bedford.
When I went to Minera, it was because Meg and Mog's mothers were house-hunting for a new home within a more manageable commuting distance from London. They had previously been neighbours living at the other end of my street.
I'm hoping to head back to north Wales sometime this summer. But with my health issues making travel nerve-wracking at the moment, Cotton End will be a chance to test the waters, the effectiveness of my new meds and, hopefully, get my mojo back.
Cotton End is a shorter journey from my home than Bromley, where I stayed last weekend to cat-sit Sammy, Lily and Poppy. While I was there, I chose not to venture out much. Literally, two supermarket runs less than ten minutes walk from the house.
Unfortunately, the mercury is set to soar this coming week. That will make going out less appealing for me. But I hope to get out at least a little with my camera.
If possible, I'll also meet up with a friend and her mother who live in Bedford. But it will depend on their schedule and health.
untitled #204
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 29 March 2022].
a couple of cabbage trees
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 7 February 2022].
wrecked
[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 24 June 2021].
So, yesterday was a bit tiring but mostly good.
After a day consumed by client work, I was about to settle in for an evening of photo editing. Before I did, I took a moment to catch up on social and clicked on an Instagram story from a friend.
To be honest, I rarely click on the stories of friends or accounts I follow. Not because I'm not interested in what they're sharing. But because they've often shared it to their feed as well. Or it's content they're sharing from others, which may or may not interest me.
Also, I generally have to be in the right mood for stories or reels, even IG video. And then there are the soundtracks people choose to accompany them, but that's a discussion for another time...
So, I was in for a bit of a shock when clicking on her stories yesterday evening.
Her bruised and swollen face looked back at me, and my first thought was that someone had beaten the hell out of her.
I held my thumb on the story to stop it from moving forward and took in the text and hashtags on the post to register what I was looking at. I let the next story play, and then I messaged.
She had been in a terrible car accident and, if not for people coming to her rescue, she could have died. I'm so thankful she didn't.
We met about 2005 via MySpace and became fast friends. We've shared so much in the intervening 16 years - especially in the first few years of our friendship (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) - despite spending so many of those years miles apart.
She's been a muse to me. One of the most easygoing models I've worked with.
She's given me access to inspiring natural and manmade environments in which to take self-portraits almost every time I've been able to visit her. Both in Australia and the UK.
She also managed to get my photography (and my cleavage) on the telly for the first time a few years back.
We don't chat enough these days, but when we do - as with many of my best friends - it's like picking up a conversation from two weeks ago instead of two years (or more) ago.
Despite having to undergo facial surgery to repair her broken jaw (hopefully today, Australian time), she hasn't lost her dark sense of humour.
I don't have any photos from my D700 from the last day we met up in Coolangatta on the final full day of my visit to Australia in late 2019. All those I took with my iPhone have already been shared.
That's why I decided to edit and share this photo from earlier in the road trip from Melbourne to Brisbane. I thought it might appeal to her dark sense of humour at this time.
So I'm relieved but still catching my breath a little with this news right now. And sending my love and the gentlest hugs across the time zones to her.
untitled #204
[I originally posted this image as early access for my Patreon patrons on 2 June 2021].
096 hunny
Day ninety-six of The 100 Day Project for 2021.
Yes, I'm aware that if that bee flaps its wings, the building will collapse.
But, after almost 100 days, I've confirmed something I suspected. But possibly wasn't quite as blatant before as it is in yesterday's sketch.
The first line I drew of this sketch was along the underside of the front of the honey shop's roof.
It's actually pretty accurately horizontal.
But then, do you know what I must have done, on auto-pilot, and not corrected for as I was drawing most of the horizontal lines of the shop's walls?
In other sketches, it would be less jarring, but in this one, it's glaring. I mean, the slant of the corrugated roof isn't terrible. Even the slanted-vertical corners of the shop aren't that bad.
What's throwing everything out is the (not) horizontal lines of the weatherboard.
So, I'm right-handed (I know. How boring...) And when I write almost anything, I don't have my writing material square to the desk. I'm going to guess you don't either.
I tilt my writing material probably about 45 degrees so that the top of the page leans quite heavily to the left.
Clearly, this is such an unconscious thing for me to do. And, given I'm using a hardback visual diary to draw in, which has certain constraints versus a flat piece of paper, I'm not really thinking about it. And obviously not correcting for it.
So then you think the honey shop in Wombat Creek has narrowly stood up to a tornado.
Except, in reality, you'd know that wasn't likely because Australia doesn't have tornadoes.
But a little under two months after we drove through here, one of the numerous vicious bushfires that razed rural Australia before, during and after our visit hit the surrounding areas. Thankfully the honey shop survived unscathed.
It definitely fared better in the bushfires than in my wonky drawing.
Maybe if you squint, you can pretend the horizontal lines are actually horizontal on the front of the building. And the correct angle for the perspective on the side of the building has been achieved.
Or maybe just get drunk, and it will all look perfectly aligned?
Despite the poor result, at 70 minutes, this came in as one of - if not the - lengthiest sketch sessions for this year's project. I'm not entirely sure it was time well spent.
The original sketch was drawn with a 4H pencil and then variously overdrawn and shaded with a 6B, 2B, B, HB and heavier weight 4H pencil.
upon a country lane
[I originally posted this image as early access for my Patreon patrons on 24 February 2021].
near nowa nowa
bluebell barn
In the wee hours of this morning, I was again reminded of the many reasons I love photography. In this case, the random connections it creates between complete strangers and the many and varied memories it can evoke for different people.
norfolk_girl_ came across my digital collage, waiting for godot, when searching for photos of farmhouses on Instagram.
I took this photo of Bluebell Barn on Briscoe Lane, East Briscoe, Baldersdale, as Kyle and I prepared to leave The Old Chapel after staying there and seeing the sights in the area for a week in February 2012.
Though we broke up nearly six years ago and I still haven't finished editing and posting all my photographs from that holiday, I have a soft spot for this area. It was a lovely break away.
norfolk_girl_ recognised it as the holiday home her family visited for many years, and it brought back many memories for her. Coincidentally, their last stay had also been in 2012.
When she commented on my post to tell me and tagged her family members to show them, I promised to share the original photo there later in the day. I said I would check if I had any more photos of the 'barn', but unfortunately, as I suspected, this was the only one.
As promised, I’ve now shared this on Instagram for her.
world photography day 2020
The internet: Today is World Photography Day!
Me: Every day is World Photography Day in my world…
cookout
Day forty-nine of The 100 Day Project.
Illustrations: