March

I keep staring at this page wondering what I am going to write about! It is hard to keep up with blogging, you get caught up in that thing of swiping and not spending enough time on one thing and I need to stop and focus again and think about what I have been up to .

Seeing - I have got back into culture and have been going to various art galleries here in London where there is so much choice. I went to see Lucien Freud  and absolutely loved every minute of it, I thought I had seen enough of his work but this exhibition was more about his early drawings and the attention to detail just captivated me. If it comes to your part of the world I would so recommend going to see it.

I also went to see Tracey Emin with my daughter. I remember so vividly seeing her unmade bed all those years ago but we didn't enjoy this exhibition - so much anger and it was just too confrontational plus the writing was so tiny and it was busy so we just couldn't read anything! sadly London does like to cram these exhibitions full of people so it's hard to read captions at the best of times. I know that art should cause controversy but this was all a bit too much. 

Tasting - I have given up chocolate and croissants for lent and I do miss chocolate but I am eating healthily and had to have soup today because it was so cold but I am looking forward to lots of salads as the weather warms up. 

Feeling - I feel settled in the UK finally. It took at trip back to Sydney for me to realise that this is my home and I like living here. I miss all my friends but here is where I belong. I think that where your physical home is makes a huge difference and I love pottering in my house. I had become completely paranoid about making friends here and each outing ended in disappointment if I came home without a contact but now I realise it just doesn't matter. I know that friendships will come, I have connections and interactions every day with people when I am out walking Max and that's enough. I am a homebody and an introvert and I realise now that nothing is going to change that and I don't need to move back to Sydney, London is doing just fine.

Hearing - the birds in the morning and soon the clocks with go forward and the dawn chorus will start. We are going to jazz on friday night, I love jazz, any jazz really and my husband isn't that keen but I have persuaded him. 

Smelling - the daffodils are out and the blossom on the trees is lining our streets in full bloom and at night the scents fills the air, spring perfume everywhere. Here are some pictures I took lately of spring either out and about or on my kitchen table where I love to display flowers each day either snuck into my pocket on a dog walk (it is illegal to pick flowers from a park or someone's garden here!). 

Sydney

 I have just spent three weeks in Sydney where I caught up with friends, enjoyed the sun and the sights and reacquainted myself with everything I had missed over the last two years. It was exhausting, and I came away with a large amount of photographs and great memories and a croaky voice from too much talking. I hadn't realised how much I needed to go back to Sydney to be able to come back to England and move forward. I'm not sure if that makes sense but I needed to say goodbye to move on and I feel ready to really start life here, to stop thinking the grass is always greener and anyway, enough wittering! here are some of the many photos I took.

Sunbathers at Fairy Bower pool in Manly

Happy New Year!

 Happy new year everyone, wow to 2026 hey? The year of the horse, the year that so many of us begin with our list of goals, I have been writing mine, how about you?

One of my goals is to print out my photos into a book once a month. I have just finished another 365 on flickr, yes I still use it and love it. I am faced with the daunting task of trying to make a book for the year but I can't face sorting out the photos so I thought this year I will select each month and by the end of the year it won't be as daunting. I have just started another 365 today, it seems second nature now, do you want to do one with me? doesn't have to be a photo a day, could be a photo a week or even a month. 

I am currently doing an online course in black and white photography which is really interesting and will form another project for the year. The instructor says look at your work and make projects out of what you currently have, I have a lot of photos from the tube, they have now gone in their own project folder. I have also started a self portrait project, I have very low self worth and thought that by trying to take a photograph of myself I might grow to love myself a bit. The first photograph highlighted so many flaws and wrinkles! I also looked into a few tutorials and you don't have to photograph your face, it can be any part of your body or out of focus so I am just going to keep experimenting and again, will anyone join me? This project will probably be once a month or so. 

My other goal is to get back to doing one cultural thing a week, there is so much to see and do here in London and once the crowds have gone I will start with Marie Antoinette at the V and A and we have a few plays coming up, one with Brian Cranston and one with Billy Crudock

Book reading is a given, I will carry on with my alphabet of authors. I am half way through G now, will report back on that later. I took this photo of a second hand bookstore around the corner from me, wouldn't it be wonderful to have that many books in your house?