“The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men”

After much planning and anticipation we flew to London last week. Our itinerary included a month in America, visiting friends and relatives. A visit to my mum was also long overdue.

My mum was overjoyed to see us on the first day, but sadly on the second had to be reminded of who I was. That is the cruelness of dementia.

Things were going swimmingly, flights and hotels were all booked for the US. Unfortunately a few days ago my poor husband had to visit the emergency department. There were problems with his bladder. He is now awaiting further tests.

Health always comes first obviously, but that still doesn’t mean there isn’t profound disappointment over a long awaited trip. We have both received quite a scare and a wake up call. As soon as he is fit to fly we will be making our way home.

We did have a few lovely days before this catastrophe. A walk along the River Crouch, along from where my brother lives. Staying at my brother and sister-in-law’s has been a blessing. We also had a fun day in London catching up with some cousins. Although Anthony did nearly fall down the stairs from the top of a double decker bus! He just about managed to hold on, this is where things started to go wrong. Who knows, a coincidence perhaps?

London Gallery

These are photos of the Guild Church of St. Katherine Cree and with the Gherkin in the background. I love walking around the streets of London, admiring the old and new. Although I think they could spend a few pounds on cleaning up this lovely old church! It is one of the oldest buildings in the city, with the present building dating back to 1628.

Overlooking Regent’s Canal

The best laid plans of Mice and Men is from a poem by Robert Burns. It highlights the idea that even the most carefully planned things can be disrupted. The best way forward is to accept all things with equanimity and not to rail against events that cannot be changed. This is my mantra for the moment.

🎉 Enjoy VE Celebrations 🎉

️

~ Wordless Wednesday – 16/4/2025 ~

Capturing Night Photography in Monochrome

This week Elke from Pictures Imperfect has chosen the theme of night. My night photos always seem to have shafts of light in the wrong places. What I see in my view is not what ends up in my gallery. I used Canva for editing and framing my photos.

“Black and white is not sad. It’s poetic.” – Robert Frank

From my garden the other night. I seem to spend a lot of time on my patio at the moment! It’s a great place to sit in the mornings drinking my coffee and in the evenings for happy hour. I like the play on the shadows here.

“All the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.” – Leo Tolstoy

Just a touch of a blue hue – no prizes for where this is.

A typical shot in Bangkok, could be a nice building but who can tell with all the wires.

“Black and white can transform a scene into something magical.”
Rob Sheppard

Darling Harbour, Sydney. Black and white photography work well with reflections on the water.

~ Pick Five Words with Photos to Match ~

This is a challenge indeed! Paula from Lost in Translation has chosen March’s words and here’s my gallery below. You can make up your own minds if mine accurately match the words.

Dense

This is my mum in Ephesus, Turkey, writing her wishes. Visitors write wishes or prayors on pieces of cloth and tie them to the wall. We were on a cruise and one of the tours took us to the wishing wall at the House of the Virgin Mary. I hope hers came true.

Dusk

Taken from my garden a few weeks ago. I get quite a kick in seeing a different colour sky than blue! Although that’s not a complaint.

Illusion

A pavement drawing in chalk in Hong Kong. It seems such an effort to draw in chalk as these are only temporary. Very clever though.

Authentic

Authentic and iconic, this would be recognisable anywhere in the world. There are some similar buildings that share the sail like structures but Sydney Opera House is in a class of its own.

Bloom

Also a a recent photo from my garden. Anthony left this blooming cluster of bougainvillea when pruning the rest.

~ Monochrome Madness – Old and New Buildings Around the World ~

There is no theme this week for Monochrome Madness. However, I have taken inspiration from Leanne’s post. Her post focuses on buildings or architecture.

Tirana, Albania and London

Hong Kong

Hydrabad, India

Girokastra, Albania

Stratford Upon Avon, England

I’ve enjoyed editing these photos with different tones of black and white. It’s been fun working with all the different tools that come with Canva.

~ Three for one – Monochrome Madness ~

This week the theme is about cropping one photo three ways. I was surprised by how different the original could look. It took me a while to get this they way I wanted, hence just the one photo! Thanks Leanne for an interesting challenge.

The original photo which I’ve converted to a monochrome filter.

A mural by Australian street artist – Matt Adnate. Maybe the tallest mural in the Southern Hemisphere.

A young Noongar man holding a bunch of eucalyptus leaves.

A Middle Eastern Woman

A young Burmese Girl

My favourite is the Middle Eastern Woman. By cropping this image it enhances the smaller details, such as her scarf.

~ Morning Coffee and a Rainbow ~

I sat outside yesterday morning with my coffee, enjoying the early morning cool weather. I looked up at the sky and wondered if the rain was coming or going. All of a sudden through the haze a rainbow appeared. As I sat in silent wonder, it seemed to become brighter. A lovely treat for a Saturday morning I thought.

🌈Have a great week🌈

~ Have a seat for Monochrome Madness ~

Brian @ Bushboy’s World is the host for this week’s Monochrome Madness. His theme is chairs in case you haven’t guessed. I’ve picked a few from my archives but I do have a special chair to share too.

The chair above was my husband’s grandmother’s. It is an antique (Victorian?) nursing chair. It has been reupholstered in yellow silk. It is a beautiful piece of furniture, but doesn’t look at all comfortable to nurse a feeding baby.

In front of our room in Khao Lak, Thailand

Melbourne Museum of Art

It would be quite alarming having this hanging over you while studying.

Bali, Indonesia

“It’s not what’s on the table that matters, it’s who is in the chairs”

The Pickle Factory, Wisconsin – 2015

“Old empty chairs are not empty in reality; memories always sit there”

Have a seat while perusing this post – and enjoy your weekend!

~ Taking it Easy – Perth, February 2025 ~

The Summer school holidays finally came to an end here in Perth. Master Lachie would be starting year 2 and Miss Rosie would be entering kindergarten. Time for new shoes. I took both munchkins to our local shopping centre to have their feet measured up for new shoes. Everything is so sophisticated these days, and feet are measured electronically. Back in the day your foot was put into a wooden contraption with a slide bar.

Rosie was going two and three days a week, so I can still have my days with her.

Out shopping for her favourite toys.

We had some extensive tree cutting and bush pruning performed by professionals. Although my dear hubby said he would do it all – eventually – it’s the removal of all the debris that is a problem. Now I have an empty flower bed to replant, which I’ll be getting advice about.

I’m looking forward to discussing ideas with a lady I found locally.

The weather is turning slightly cooler in the mornings and evenings which is a relief. I’ve been able to sit out in the mornings with my coffee. This little guy has been visiting every morning and having a morning feed. Luckily Zac and Rufus didn’t notice.

Hubby and I had a lovely lunch in Fremantle last week. We tried a place that was new to us but I’d heard good reviews. It was such a beautiful day, we managed to get a table outside.

A couple of sculptures caught my eye. The dog is so cute.

Say hello to Dwert (noongar for dingo). Created by sculptor – Martin Jaine.

The above is a life size sculpture of a memorial to the migrant children. Between 1947 and 1953 over 3,000 children (many unaccompanied) from UK and Malta migrated to Western Australia. They went to voluntary and religious organisations. Many of these children we now know were little more than unpaid workers. They suffered untold abuse which has only come to light in the last ten years or so. The children were told they were orphans. Some of them were. Others had mothers who, due to extreme hardship, had no choice but to let them go.

We stopped at a local delicatessen to pick up some goodies and this exotic lady was posing in the middle of the shop.

Please don’t touch. I am very fragile. My name is Caffe’tina. I was made in 12 days. Arrived 8th January 2023. Multicycling in Brazil.
Coffee beans used on me __ kilo ___ grams.

I thought this was so clever and must have taken ages to put together. I wonder what the answers were?

Well that’s February done and dusted already. Have a lovely March everyone.

I’m joining in with a few challenges.
The Changing Season hosted by Brian and Ju-Lyn
and also Dan’s CFFC – Blue and…
PPAC by Natalie