Bones on Thames

Dr Bones is moored on the Thames, close to chez Nous at the moment. Yesterday, we popped over for supper. Bones, Boots, Steve and Wallace were just returning from a walk.

Wallace is a very 'can do' doggie. I was rather pleased to catch a pic of him mid canter.

Dr B. and Boots went off to guide the Rev Rattue, leaving me to be menaced by this swan.

I was very glad to see them returning through the gloom.

This morning I popped over for a cuppa (as you can see, Boots was helping).

The swan decided to make rude gestures with its foot.

Temptations...of a book kind

I was on may way out to dinner last night, when I spotted this book shop at the end of Walton St.

It was obviously run by kindred spirits....

...but it had to wait. How could I stand the Regent up?

What next?

I'm really not sure what to do with this blog. When I first started, it was a way of sharing photos with friends, and maybe try and have a little 'art' project. Of late, I've lost my photography mojo, and those snaps I do take, I share on Facebook.

In an ideal world, my mojo would come back. It all seemed to go wrong when I kept taking bad photos with my digital SLR. Something which was fun, has become something to be scared about.

Easter Tree - 2012

Spring is here, and Easter is coming, so I've decorated my Easter branches. Traditionally, the eggs would have been painted hard boiled eggs, to be shelled and eaten on Easter Day.

Like many traditions associated with Christian festivals, bunnies and eggs are 'borrowings' from earlier religions. The Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre was associated with the hare, and the Zorastrians painted eggs for Nowrooz, their New Year celebration which fell on the Spring equinox.

I'm just glad that we don't have don't have the Polish tradition of 'Switch Day'. On Easter Monday boys whack (switch) girls with willow branches!

Sun, sky, stone...

Lots of people complain about the weather in Oxford.

However, on these clear, cold Spring days the sky is beautiful.

The sun brings out the glow of the stone.

Ludlow War Memorial

The was memorial in Ludlow is very beautiful. It's in the shape of a cross with two birds in flight.

I've done a wee bit of research on the Internet, but I don't seem to be able to find out who the artist is. I have a theory that it might be the sculptor (Captain) Adrian Jones, who was a Ludlow lad. The Cavalry Memorial at Hyde Park Corner is his best known work.

Wroxeter Roman City - or a wall

"Let's go to see the Romans" I trilled.

"They've left" grumped Dr B.

I insisted, dragged her across most of Shropshire to find that Wroxeter Roman City was:

i) Closed (the guide said it would be open, I checked, really I did).

ii) Consisted of a wall (it looked better in the guidebook, really, it did).

Dr B was not impressed.

Miss T and Dr Bones go mad in Shropshire (or a Tales of Two Kindles)

"So" said Dr Bones, "let's go away to a cottage for a few days".

"Yes, let's" I simpered. That's how, dear reader, I found myself navigating to Henley Cottage. The cottage featured in the BBC TV programme 'The Victorian Farm'. As well as having no running water, or electricity, the neighbours are very friendly (see above).

As we had our first sight of our holiday 'home from home', I was reminded of Uncle Monty's cottage in the film 'Withnail and I'.

Thanks to Dr B's narrow boat experience, by the end of our stay we could boil a kettle in under an hour!

The cottage only contained these tiny, doll sized glasses. Pouring that many glasses in order to drink a bottle of wine is incredibly debilitating.

In the evenings we were able to read...

...by Kindle light.

Fantastic view from the outside loo :-).