This week Leya is hosting the Lens Artist Challenge. The theme this time is Holiday Fun. This could be keeping in the spirit of things with Christmas images or just your favourite holiday images. I’ve gone with some recent photos I’ve taken. I have been fairly busy with many different kinds of parties. I’ve been to a bookclub lunch, bridge parties, zumba and have an upcoming street party. It’s been so much fun, I haven’t yet found the time for any shopping.
Taken when I was back in the UK. We had a day out at a winter wonderland Christmas shop. I couldn’t believe the amount of decorations on sale. I’m happy I don’t have a colour scheme or any kind of theme as I wouldn’t know where to start.
I spent far too long on Canva with these frames, but happy to say I have more knowledge on framing now!
I’ve been a good girl, I promise
Our lovely hostess Shirley created this table for our bridge lunch.
Enjoying a glass or two after playing bridge all afternoon. We didn’t do well.
This week for the Lens-Artist Challenge, Anne @ Slow Shutter Speed has asked us to go on a scavenger hunt for photos dealing with the topics she has suggested. Check out her website for all the details.
Our aim was to find between five and ten, no more than ten. With such diversity, it was a hard choice.
AND
This was lots of fun, I like a challenge that enables me to use photo editing tools. For this post I used SnapSeed. It’s a great free app that I have on my phone.
The Lens Artist Challenge this week is brought to us by Johnbo @ Journeys with Johnbo. He’s explained it well and we’re looking for photos that feature compositional elements like lines, patterns, or colours. Maybe we can find all three in one photo.
Bats in fronds, cables, clouds and birds on a wire
Munchkins one and two at the Airship Orchestra event at our local shopping centre.
Munchkin one is seven!
A colourful carousel featuring lines, patterns and colour
Remains of The West Pier in Brighton, designed by Eugenius Birch in 1866. Sadly beyond repair, but glorious in its hey day.
Brighton i360, an observation tower. An eyesore to be sure and not quite fitting with the surrounding Georgian architecture.
Thank you Johnbo for an interesting and entertaining challenge.
The challenge for Lens Artist this week is “Cats and Dogs” hosted by Tina. I’m not a cat person in any way at all and have never owned one. I’m always slightly wary of cats, you never know when they will strike. Give me a dog anyday.
I know the saying is “A Man’s Best Friend” but my two fur boys are also mine. Zac and Rufus have been with us for 9 and ten years. Both were adopted from rescue organisations. They were both apparently one year old when they first came to live with us. We think though that Zac was older and Rufus was younger. They love each other like true brothers and can’t do anything without the other.
I put together a small collage using Canva instead of uploading many different ones.
Rufus and Zac are so much part of our family, I can’t imagine living life without a dog around.
I’m running out of space for this blog and it’s so time consuming deleting old posts and finding the photos that are attached. Do I upgrade for more space or spend time deleting old posts and photos?
Patti is the Lens Artist host this week and she has challenged us all to find the details in our subject. Post three photos from different angles.
I’m not quite sure I’m on the right track with mine! Maybe I’m biased but I think Rufus is extremely photogenic.
The last one is a tad blurry, but it was taken on the spur of the moment. Looks 3D or as if I have cut and pasted! You can probably guess that he’s excited for his dinner. Although you would think he hasn’t eaten in a week.
It’s our annual trip to Bali week with half the family. This time we’re trying out Benoa, staying at the Novotel on the beach.
We were allocated rooms in the block across the road. A very small road and always manned by two smiling staff to usher you across. Similar to lollipop ladies at school complete with whistles and high viz sticks. The traffic were not as well behaved as ours though and these men frequently had to whistle frantically to make any bike or car stop.
The tide’s inBeach side poolSea mist Kids poolFishing boatsFlying high
All neatly squared for Becky’s Seven for September. Also as it’s the neighbourhood I’m in at the moment, I’ve linked it to Lens Artist.
As it’s school holidays beds on the beach are pretty limited. There is another lovely pool in our block that’s nice and quiet and ideal for the kids.
On the first day I joined in aqua aerobics and didn’t realise how burnt I was getting. It’s quite bad and this hasn’t happened to me in such a long time. Anyway I’ve learnt my lesson and now wear a solar top every day.
This year on our way back from Glasgow we had an overnight stay at Hazlewood Castle. I only happened upon this castle when looking at our route home and saw that it was also a hotel. I was extremely excited to find that it was quite reasonable for an overnight stay. We didn’t manage to get a room in the castle itself but in one of the buildings surrounding the place.
Hazlewood castle dates back to 1066 and was in the possession of Gamel, son of Osmund. It was during the time of King Edward the Confessor.
1086 Doomsday notes that it was given to Mauger le Vavasour by William de Percy.
From 1183 until 1826 it was in the hands of the Vavasour family and it was only due to the death of the 7th baron that it was passed to a relative – Edward Stourton, who then took the name Vavasour.
In 1290 it was granted a licence to crenallate the medieval building.
In 1908 it was put up for sale and the Vavasour family moved to New Zealand where they started the famous Vavasour Winery.
This of course is just a very short timeline and below is the history of events that took place during the different reigns. The family certainly had their ups and downs but always seemed to come together again.
Coincidentally Vavasour is one of my favourite Sauvignon Blancs so I was especially intrigued that the name was originally from France. The restaurant was also called Vavasour.
The surrounding buildings and gardens
The castle is situated in beautiful countryside and the views are amazing. We had a pleasant walk through the gardens and were also surprised to be given a key to enter the small chapel. I think the key must date back hundreds of years as it was extremely large and difficult to open the door.
“To the Manor born”
The door to the chapel
Vavasour descendentsSir William VavasourThe Chapel
Inside the Castle
A glass of VavasourThe King is coming to dinner!Elaborate carved fireplace
This is a fabulous hotel for a night or two, great for an anniversary or birthday treat. There is also a day spa offering relaxing and revitalising treatments, ideal for a girls’ weekend away.
Also posting for Lens Artist Challenge, In the Garden, hosted by Ann-Christine.
“Life is a zigzag journey, they say, not much straight and easy on the way, but the wrinkles in the map,explorers know,smooth out like magic at the end of where we go”
Ivan Doig
An interesting theme this week from Patti for Lens Artist Challenge, to look for zig zags in your photos. I can’t say that I’ve photographed anything specifically for a zig zag, but they can be found in so many of our photos.
We’ve been on the road travelling interstate for the last ten days or so and I have a few new photos.
Gundagai Historical Bridge
The rest are from the archives! I’ll be posting about the road trip on my return to Perth.
Reflection of Fairfield Pipeline Bridge, Victoria, Australia Alexandra Suspension Bridge, Launceston, TasmaniaBusy road crossing, Hue,Vietnam
The photo above was taken a few years ago but I noticed a few zig zags here!
This week the Lens Artist Challenge is balconies, hosted by Flights of the Soul. Who doesn’t love a balcony to sit out and watch the sunset or sunrise from your hotel, or if you’re lucky to have one in your own house to sit and watch the world go by. When we lived in Hong Kong we called a balcony a veranda or verandah, I’ve since learned that the word veranda is very much Australian. A proper balcony is elevated and a verandah is on the ground level, perhaps under a balcony!
Seville, Spain
The above photos were taken on a visit to Seville, Spain many years ago. With most cities a balcony is all important and a way to feel connected to your neighbour and the action below.
The above were taken whilst walking along the Regents Canal, London. I wonder what the significance of the cow is!
Perast, Montenegro
Our apartment was the first floor on the left, it was relaxing to sit and enjoy the spectacular views over the Bay of Kotor.
Enjoying the sun underneath the balcony in Stanley, TasmaniaCockatoos looking for scraps on the balcony, Lorne, Victoria
Melbourne, Victoria
I could only stand inside the apartment and take this photo, it made me feel too uneasy being on the 26th floor!
This little outing was taken during the last school holidays and it’s also just down the road from me. The Claremont Museum is somewhere I’d never visited even though we’ve lived here for 20 years. I thought I would check it out with my two munchkins.
The building was actually a school once upon a time, called Freshwater Bay School opening in 1892. It was subsequently used for a place of worship, a boarding house for young men and also a police station.
There is no entry fee which was surprising and when we entered the kids were given clipboards by the lady in charge with photos of tiny lego men which were hidden all around the museum.
Ready to start searchingLessons from the good old days
After spending a good hour in here we wandered down to the small river beach and as it was a hot day, they decided to have a paddle and build sandcastles.
Sand and water provide endless entertainments for kids.
Time for lunch and a play
After I had taken this photo I zoomed in and was taken aback at how creepy and ugly these mini sculptures were!
“Kids, hallowed be thy youth. Enjoy it while it lasts.” ― DON SANTO
Oh! to be young again is many a lament you often hear from old people, but I’m not sure I would want to be a child again. I’m very happy I don’t have to go to school anymore, especially not hundreds of years ago anyway.
“No matter if you’re 14 or 90 years old, you’ll never be this young again.” Matt Purcell
Tina from Travels and Trifles is the host this week for Lens-Artist and the topic if you haven’t guessed is “To be young again”.
