~ A Town Mouse or a Country Mouse, which one are you? ~

This is the question posed by Tina from Travels and Trifles this week. We are all familiar with the famous story by Aesop from our childhood. The moral of the story is “living a simple and happy life is better than living an extravagant life with constant fear“.

Of course we all want a happy life, not so sure about simple. I love living near a city, but not in one, just near enough to get an exciting vibe whenever I feel the need. On the otherhand, I do like the peace and quiet of the Perth suburbs.

Having lived and worked in London and also Hong Kong, I enjoyed the hustle and bustle of city life. We lived in the countryside in Hong Kong, an anomaly right there, but it wasn’t too far to drive into the city.

Hong Kong City – Day & Night

Hong Kong Countryside

Perth – Countryside and City

I love a city break for two or three nights, see the sights and visit fancy restaurants. Coming home to my serene suburban life is always welcome at the end.

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~ Participate in the Lens Artist Challenge: Capture Lines, Patterns and Colours ~

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.

~ A Homegrown Lettuce for One Word Sunday ~

An easy choice from Debbie at Travel with Intent this week, the word is Green.

A magnificent lettuce from my brother’s garden in Essex. Although he was fairly miffed when I picked it for salad at dinner. Apparently there is a certain way to do this for regrowth. I hope it did grow again.

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~ A Riot of Reds Around the World~

As we near the end of Becky’s Red Squares for July, I went all out for the last day. Incorporating boats, doors, umbrellas and flowers for a fun fiesta of reds.

Looking forward to joining in more challenges soon.

~ Shots of Street Lamps in Monochrome ~

This week’s theme for Monochrome Madness is Street Lamps. Chosen by Brian @ BushBoy’s World.

I looked through my archives and found a few, they make lovely shots, especially when transformed into monotone. The old wrought iron and lacework make the best photos. Obviously, lighting has changed over the years to be more practical. Still, a street looks so much more interesting when there are old-fashioned lamp posts.

***The Cherry Tree, Stambridge, Essex***

I couldn’t resist leaving a touch of the yellow lichen on the roof.

Taken on a walk around London, I happened to glance down an alley way and saw this pub. Apparently the tallest pub in London and there has been an inn on this site since 1142. It is now a Grade II listed building. Charles Dickens mentioned it several times in The Pickwick Papers.

The above needs no introduction. Being named after one of Charles II’s mistresses. Possibly, the most famous one of all.

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.

~ A Medley of Hands for Monochrome Madness ~

This week’s theme is hands chosen by Stupidity Hole. I created a gallery below from photos from my archive.

“Remember you have golden hands. Whatever you touch turns golden. You give value to what you do and not the other way around“

Your Golden Hands

“Never look down on the work you do on the way to your destiny“

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~ Exploring Swan Valley: Riverbank Estate ~

Off for our usual Sunday jaunt to a winery in the Swan Valley. We haven’t been to the Swan Valley for a while, preferring to go into the Perth Hills for the views. More wineries are located in the Swan Valley, along with restaurants, cafes and farm shops. We had lunch at Riverbank Estate overlooking the green vineyards. There’s a mediterranean ambience here, maybe due to the terracotta and limestone brick architecture.

The service and food were excellent. As it was a super hot day there were hanging water spouts squirting a cool mist over us.

On the way out I stopped to take a few photos of the decorative window frames.