Monochrome Madness? Possibly. This week, Sarah’s calling for things beginning with P. I’ve picked birds. Birds beginning with P.
I need to confess that not one of the birds featured below is a passerine, though this order of birds accounts for about half of all bird species. Peacocks, puffins, parakeets, pigeons, pelicans, pheasants – none of them fits the bill. The raven in my featured photo is a passerine however. Though he doesn’t begin with P …
A perfectly posh peacock.Parading puffins.Pious parakeet.Paddling pigeons.Prying pelicans.Pair of pheasants.
It’s always fun to spend time with a fellow-blogger, and a bit of a coup to be in London at a time when Sarah, of Travel with Me fame is actually not travelling! We’d met before, both in London and in Yorkshire. But we wanted to link up again, cameras in our hands.
Camden Town has changed a bit since I last visited. It’s Tourist Central. I heard more Italian than English, and Spanish school students seemed to be everywhere. No wonder Sarah and I didn’t at first spot one another. Here are a few shots I took whilst we were still hunting each other down.
Those 3D reliefs on the front of almost every shop seem to be a feature. Once Sarah and I found each other, we retired instantly for a relaxing canal-side coffee – in the open air!
Next – our stroll along the canal. Plenty to see. A Banksy? No, apparently not.
I don’t know how I cut off the left hand edge …
Walking under a bridge, we spotted reflections …
…. then graffiti …
… and a group of people chatting, and echoing the bright colours of the graffiti behind them.
We popped into St. Pancras Old Church and its churchyard. It’s the burial place of the writer Mary Wollstonecraft who way back in the 18th century was a passionate advocate for educational and social equality for women. Her tomb has acquired a dusting of small tributes fom those who come to pay their respects to her memory. There’s a Thomas Hardy connection here too, AND one to architect Sir John Soane. Sarah’s account of our walk together tells the tales, so you can read all about them here.
Coins and trinkets left on top of Mary Wollstonecraft’s tomb.
We had an agreeable saunter round the Camley Street Natural Park. It’s a tiny oasis of wildness bang up against a busy part of London. You’d never know that Kings Cross, traffic, shops, offices were only a couple of minutes walk away. I was so carried away by the peace of it all, I clean forgot to take a single photo.
Back to civilisation, Coal Drops Yard and Granary Square. Lunch was the plan, but before that, time for a wander. An exhibition (beauty products?) was just being dismantled, but the copper-effect display structures still stood, presenting an opportunity for selfies.
Sarah’s already taken a photo or two, but here I am, still seeking that perfect shot.
Granary Square is full of places to find interesting food. Sarah had experience on her side, and picked a good ‘un, Caravan. We’re not on Instagram here, so no artful shots of our lunch. We were too busy talking anyway.
A few more photo ops afterwards, from an unhurried little corner dedicated to Everyday Mental Maintenance where people could sit for a few quiet moments, resting, chatting, or simply reading one of the poems forming a backdrop.
We wondered if this was a long-distance friendship. Texting each other as an alternative to chatting? Probably not. They almost certainly had no idea that anyone else was sharing the space.So they did!
But that was our time together over. Sarah had a journey back to her corner of London, and I was on Post School Duty back with the family. So we went our separate ways, promising that we’d try to meet again in the summer, when Sarah hopes to be once again in Yorkshire. Thanks, Sarah, for a day well spent!
I feel so lucky that the area where I live is rich in trees, because not so very long ago, the local copses were woods, and the woods were forests. Here’s one favourite, an ancient oak: frustratingly, it’s not possible to stand far enough away to get it all in frame. But I love visiting this near neighbour of ours. How many centuries ago did it begin its life?
An ancient oak near North Stainley
There are trees that flourish against the odds. The feature photo shows two trees at Brimham Rocks. Where have they burrowed their roots? Where is the soil that nourishes them? And here are two we meet when walking near Coniston in Yorkshire.
Two trees near Coniston, Grassington
I’m always fond of this tree near Jervaulx Abbey. And I always wonder who the lucky child was who had a second home there.
Here’s another from Jervaulx Abbey itself that always makes me laugh.
The grounds of Jervaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire
This one’s a favourite in our nearby woodland at West Tanfield.
Greensit Batts, West Tanfield
And here’s just another local specimen. Not weird. Just wonderful.
There were times during my recent trip to Spain when I was part of a street-side audience. But there were those who had a prime viewing spot. They lived in an apartment immediately above the action. I have a few shots of them peering down at the events below.
On my first Saturday, we popped over to Barcelona, for a neighbourhood festival: La Festa Major de la Esquerra de l’Exeimple. Early in the morning (well, early for Spain) we happened upon a communal keep-fit session. So did this older inhabitant, who chose to maintain her distance.
This is what she was missing:
Then the next weekend, nearer home, was Rebombori, which I reported on here. As the gegants plodded through the streets, at least one chap had a ringside view.
And when they arrived in the town square, one set of young people had the best view of all:
My header photo is another from the Festa Major, when we were all ‘just looking’ at the Gegants de la Pedrera, the neighbourhood’s very own gegants, celebrating Antoni Gaudí, whose buildings are generously scattered throughout the area. And indeed at the locals who were adding a bit of colour (if not in this photo) by dressing up quite splendidly in Edwardian costume.
I would like to try an experiment today: and I’d like your help. This week, Jude, of Cornwall in Colours, has set the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #226, and has asked us to focus on illustrating texture. I started browsing through my archives, and then I read Sarah of Travel with Me‘s contribution. She had decided to showcase her choices in monochrome, which she felt highlighted texture better than colour. I immediately agreed with her.
And then. I wasn’t so sure. Here are my choices, shown both ways. I’m not using WordPress’ Image Compare feature, which irritates me, as I can never see either image properly. Click on any image you would like to see full-size.
Let’s try a typical North Yorkshire landscape. It’s the drystone wall that interests me.
Near Grimwith, North Yorkshire
Or some grasses…
A field somewhere near home.
What about a slightly dilapidated farmyard shed?
Near Hovingham, North Yorkshire.
Or a farmyard hen?
A friendly neighbourhood hen.
Or a weathered wall in Newcastle?
Or an even more weathered olive tree in Greece?
One of the ancient olive trees of Agios Achillios
And then there’s the featured image of course, not shown in colour. Any guesses?
From Pyrenees to Pennines 
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