Happy New Year

Another year over
With mixed blessings!
Facing the New Year
With some trepidation
Government cutbacks
And economic woes.
And yet we'll survive
One way or another.
Happy New Year
May it exceed all our wildest desires.

#aros

Wind

Gusting hard
Rattling the cat-flap
The wind is here again
Making its presence known
By its antics.






#aros

Fog Walk

Grey, moist cloud
Covers all
Objects loom like ghosts
Memories of the past -
To what has been
But not forgotten.



#aros

Shades of Blue and Gold

Shades of Blue and Gold
Sky-wrapped Sun
Over Sea-layered sand
Crisp Bright Afternoon
With Stillness in the Air
Sounds of Joy and Laughter
Christmas on the Beach

Christmas

Cards sent;
Presents sorted;
Food bought and
Meals arranged.
Then finally . .
Lights on the Tree
Now ready for Christmas
Awesome!

The Day

The Day
Still as a picture
Bright with Sunlight
Crisp and Cold
Surrounds me

One of Those Days Again!

I suppose everything would be easier without the cough I've recently acquired. But now everything is something of an effort. One of those days! Oh Well! Creativity scat, concentration scat, energy scat. So it can only get better now! Can't it? Please?

T'ai Chi in the Snow

I always do T'ai Chi as part of my morning routine as well as a form of Chinese yoga and often in my back garden when the weather is dry. Yesterday was so changeable that I started doing T'ai Chi in sunshine and it had started to snow before I'd finished. It all felt a little surreal. Now today it's bright sunshine again but still cold.

Christingle

I went to my first Christingle service last Sunday. I'd heard about it through friends of mine and decided to go. It was lovely seeing the children going up to receive their Christingle Oranges and then moving back to the front of the church. I looked up a bit of information about this ceremony and discovered that it is quite ancient and was practiced by the Moravians in the eighteenth century and was adopted by the Anglican church in 1968. Afterward I stayed and listened to a concert with Pendeen Silver Band and Mounts Bay Singers.

Porthcurno

Today, as the weather was sunny, we drove to Porthcurno for a walk on the cliffs. It was remarkably mild down there and on the cliff path up from the beach where my friend and I caught our breaths after the steep climb, it was incredibly warm in the lovely sunshine and beautifully sheltered from the wind. An inquisitive robin came to investigate us and was our companion for part of our journey further up the cliff path. The view from the top was brilliant. The whole experience felt quite magical.

Blackcap

This week, for the first time, I've noticed a lot of male Blackcaps around. Although my bird book says that they're quite common little birds, I've never noticed them in the back garden before. Maybe their presence now has something to do with the snow that we had earlier this winter and they're now coming to new areas. Whatever, it's a pleasure to see them!

Creative Writing

On Friday I put together some images for a Creative Writing Group I joined earlier this year. We all live locally and we meet about once a month. We each take turns to lead the session and later this month it is my turn to do so. I chose the subjects of Christmas and Winter. I enjoyed putting together images for both themes.

Farmers Market Concert

This afternoon I drove into town to sing in an open air concert with Levow an Bys in the Farmers Market in Penzance. It was a bit chilly but we still had a lot of fun.

Blue November Sky

Recently I've been made aware of the sky and cloud patterns. It seems as if at this time of year there is more variety in the patterns than during the summer. Perhaps it's just me noticing more!

December Evening

I was busy for much of yesterday afternoon but managed to slip out for a walk in early evening. Can't get used to the shorter days but I do find that the sky effects can be quite stunning. It's all a matter of timing like many other things, music included.

Cornwall Symphony Chorus

Last night I attended a brilliant concert in Truro by the Cornwall Symphony Chorus. The singing was wonderful and the soloists, Melanie and Daniel Hoadley were quite fabulous. Could fully recommend attending any future concerts by the Chorus if you ever have the opportunity.

Expectations

At the beginning of the week I had certain expectations of how it would go. I knew when my various appointments were and the time off in between. All this was disrupted by the abrupt change of weather in West Cornwall. First the cold and then the snow changed my expectations for the rest of the week and I literally had to take each day as it comes. This did allow me however to go for a walk in the snow and take photographs of scenes that I'd never seen before and may never do again. Even so I'm glad that the snow has nearly gone now and the weather is warmer.

Monochorome

My day started in monochrome. I woke up to find that snow had fallen during the night and was quite deep all around. As earlier in the week my daily activities had to be altered due to the weather. I sat and looked out of the window at the falling snow - just watching it. After a while I walked to the shops. As a storekeeper pointed out, it was good to see so many people about in the town with their families - something that doesn't happen so much now as people tend to drive more. As I write, some of the snow is melting but it will be interesting to see what happens tonight.