Quintessentially English

Atop the Captsone

A few weeks ago I had the absolute pleasure of giving a friend away. No, not at some sort of charity car boot sale; it was at her wedding. She had had the good judgement to get married at Tunnels Beaches in Ilfracombe, Devon. Not only is it a fantastic venue in which to get married with views out to the Irish Sea and your very own private beach to explore, but the town of Ilfracombe itself is a very picturesque one. Having spent 6 hours on a coach getting there after work I was keen to get out and about the next morning. As luck would have it my hotel was just opposite the Capstone, as locals call it, or as you and I might, the big cliff thing.

Freshly fueled with eggs and bacon I charged up to the top as fast as my little legs could carry me where, at the summit, I was rewarded by fantastic views in all directions. To east and west were views of the coast and cliffs, and to the south all of Ilfracombe was laid out before me. The terrain is hilly and the bulk of the older part of town nestles in a valley running parallel with the coastline; some newer developments have followed the valley as it kinks south. Very little land is wasted, the hills are steep and so many streets are terraced, clinging to the sides of the slopes as the terrain permits. The result is lots of little blind corners, narrow alleys and sudden inclines that frequently put me in mind of the time I spent in south Wales as a child; which shouldn't be so surprising given the two are only separated by 30km or so of water. Indeed, the hotel played Welsh radio in the dining room, which rather threw me as I hadn't undergone the normal mental preparation I would customarily go through before returning there. Also at the peak was the statue in my photo at the top of this post, although I'm afraid I must confess that I have no memory of why it is there or what it represents. I can say that it does a good job of conveying the energy and movement that is so evident atop the cliffs there.

The Landmark Theatre, at bottom left, tends to polarise locals; they either love it or hate it.

My time in Ilfracombe was short but very pleasant. I have been to that part of Devon before and will happily return again in the fullness of time. I don't get to the coast as half as much as I would like which is a shame because the UK is blessed with hundreds of miles of beautiful coastline. I must make sure I don't neglect it so in the future.

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Georgiana looks most unimpressed with the Pissing Manequin; and, yes, another photo from Brussels. Don't ask....

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Real Mandela has died and so people lay flowers at the feet of Zombie Mandela. Strange.

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It took me a long time to get an angle of this statue that I was happy with; in the end I sort of just had to lay on the damp ground and make the best of it.

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Today I went to Cheltenham for the Science Festival and, boy, was I excited. It was full on geekery on a level I hadn't experienced before and I was very much in my element. There are 3 session per day; morning, afternoon and evening; and talks/demos normally last an hour or so. Today I went to a talk on how to find exoplanets and the likelihood of finding life there. All branches of science are covered to some degree and I highly recommend a visit if you're in any way interested in science. Most excitingly though, more important than just acquiring new knowledge, is being in an environment where there is such enthusiasm for science, such lust for learning and a sheer joy in the pursuit to understand nature. I'm going to be a regular at this festival for years to come.

Anyway, this photo is of Gustav Holst, a native of Cheltenham. This statue is in the fountain in the main square which is also the site of the festival. the theme was supposed to be Sunset Reflection, this is more like a Sunset Silhouette but, frankly, who cares?

Oh, and there is frequently a debate about which is the best movement of the The Planets; it's Mars. End of.

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Parliament Square continues to be a happy hunting ground for me. I've thoroughly photographed Churchill's arse so I thought it time to move on to his front. Here he is with the spires of St. Margaret's Church and Westminster Abbey as a backdrop.

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This is another shot of the back of the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square; possibly my favourite statue in the capital. I think this is the best I'm going to get it as far as composition goes; all the elements just about fit together and I love the way it looks like Churchill is still there keeping watch over Parliament, his acerbic wit on a hair trigger. Once again I have grunged it up a bit, something I seem increasingly powerless to resist of late. There are at least two or three more views I want to perfect in Parliament Square so still plenty of work to do.

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This happy chappy stands like a sentinel in front of the British Museum's new(ish) exhibition on Pompei and Herculaneum; an exhibition I've been very excited about getting to. Thanks to Sue I'm a member of the museum which means I can get into the non-free galleries as often as I like for no charge but, annoyingly, this particular show is proving so phenomenally popular that admission is normally barred. It runs for most of the year so chances to give it a thorough going over are still plentiful and I recommend you do the same, but not until after I'm done with it if you don't mind.

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In Parliament Square again. The theme was Where You Stand which is just as well because as I was standing there OH MY GOD RUN FOR YOUR LIFE IT'S GIANT KILLER ZOMBIE MANDELA!!!!!!!

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Do you remember the other day I was in Parliament Square and I spotted this composition? No? Then pay more attention. This is my second attempt at it. I've grunged it up a bit in SnapSeed hoping to add a bit of a war time feel to it. Needless to say, it's Churchill.

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I'm ignoring the prompt today, Spots, not because I don't like it but just because I found a more interesting photo. I found myself in Parliament Square this evening and came across this composition. This photo itself is nothing to shout about, it's grainy; there's a bus in the way; the branches at the top are distracting and it's just generally a bit tawdry, think of it more as a proof of concept. If I get down there with the right light and my camera and tripod then this could become something quite interesting. Watch this space.

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I was supposed to go for the them Nap today, this could be interpreted in a number of ways but I've decided to cheat on the most obvious one. This pair hadn't moved in such a long time that I could only presume they were asleep.